黑乡新路乐队

Black Country, New Road (commonly abbreviated to BC,NR or BCNR) are an English rock band formed in Cambridge in 2018. Originally founded by Tyler Hyde (bass, vocals), Lewis Evans (vocals, flute, saxophone), Georgia Ellery (violin, vocals), May Kershaw (vocals, keyboards), Charlie Wayne (drums, backing vocals) and Isaac Wood (guitar, lead vocals), they added their then-seventh member, guitarist Luke Mark, in 2019.

The band gained initial attention through singles "Athens, France" and "Sunglasses" in 2019. Their debut album For the First Time, released in 2021, received widespread critical acclaim, was nominated for the Mercury Prize and reached No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart. Four days before the release of their 2022 second album Ants from Up There, Wood left the band, citing mental health struggles. The album received further critical acclaim and commercial success, debuting at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart.

Following the departure of their lead vocalist Isaac Wood, the band immediately began work on new material, with Hyde, Ellery and Kershaw sharing lead vocal duties. After touring throughout 2022, the band released the concert film Live at Bush Hall, in February 2023, featuring several new compositions and songs that had been written since Wood's departure. In 2025, the band announced their third studio album Forever Howlong, which was released in April 2025.

History

2018–2021: Early career and For the First Time

In 2014, Tyler Hyde, Lewis Evans, Georgia Ellery, May Kershaw, Charlie Wayne, and Isaac Wood formed the East Cambridgeshire-based band Nervous Conditions, along with frontman Connor Browne and drummer Jonny Pyke. The group became known for their intense live performances and an eclectic sound. The band had recorded a full-length album in 2017, provisionally titled Zak's Anniversary; however, the album was subsequently shelved and remains officially unreleased. Following multiple allegations of sexual assault against Browne, Nervous Conditions split in early 2018. Browne issued a public apology, and the remaining members—unaware of the accusations at the time—soon formed a new project.

The group, without Browne and Pyke, reconvened soon after as Black Country, New Road in 2018. Formed by graduates of art and music schools, the six-piece was named after the eponymous road in the West Midlands in England, which Wood suggested after using Wikipedia's random article button. They performed several live shows at the Brixton Windmill venue and gained a small level of notoriety within the South London music scene. According to drummer Charlie Wayne, the band first performed with Black Midi in October 2017, before Black Country, New Road had officially formed. Although the new band shared much of Nervous Conditions' personnel, their musical direction was distinct from previous efforts.