Black Country, New Road frontman and co-founder Isaac Wood is leaving the band just days before the release of the London group’s sophomore album Ants From Up There. “Together we have been writing songs and then performing them, which at times has been an incredible doing, but more now everything happens that I am feeling not so great and it means from now I won’t be a member of the group anymore,” Wood wrote in a joint statement with the band. “To be clear: this is completely in spite of six of the greatest people I know, who were and are wonderful in a sparkling way.”
As a result of Wood’s departure, Black Country, New Road are canceling their upcoming North American tour. The band, however, is not breaking up and will continue to work “on new Black Country, New Road material going forward,” according to the statement.
Ants From Up There is due out this Friday, February 4, via Ninja Tune. The band released its debut, For the First Time, in February 2021. The record made the shortlist for the 2021 Hyundai Mercury Prize.
Black Country, New Road:
We have some news to share concerning the future of the band. Please read on for information on upcoming shows, but it seems right to pass on this message from Isaac first.
Hello everyone, I have bad news which is that I have been feeling sad and afraid too. And I have tried to make this not true but it is the kind of sad and afraid feeling that makes it hard to play guitar and sing at the same time. Together we have been writing songs and then performing them, which at times has been an incredible doing, but more now everything happens that I am feeling not so great and it means from now I won’t be a member of the group anymore. To be clear: this is completely in spite of six of the greatest people I know, who were and are wonderful in a sparkling way. If you are reading this maybe you have seen some of that. It has been a great pleasure and I would like to say the words “Thank You” to everyone.
“So that’s what things would be like if I’d invented the fing-longer.” – Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, Anthology of Interest I
Sadly, these circumstances mean we are having to cancel The Roundhouse show next week, the US tour and April tour. We know that many of you have been looking forward to seeing us live for a long time and would like to thank you for being so patient with cancellations up until now. We’re sorry to let you down and that we won’t be able to perform our new album for you – we are all immensely proud of it and hope that you enjoy ‘Ants From Up There’ nonetheless.
Although Isaac won’t be part of the group any longer, the rest of us will be continuing to make music together as Black Country, New Road. In fact, we’ve already started working on it.
The things we’ll miss about working with Isaac are too many and various to list here, but by listening to the music we made together I’m sure you’ll understand at least a few of them. It’d be difficult to overstate how much our experiences as a group have affected us. In fact it’s difficult to say anything at all coherent about what we’ve managed to do. But it has certainly been the greatest privilege to do it all together, as seven friends.
As mentioned before, the rest of us are working on new Black Country, New Road material going forward. We hope to update you all on new music and everything that goes along with that (shows included) pretty soon.
Thank you to everyone who has ever supported us, and to those who continue to do so. Here’s to love and friends and the future
BC,NR xxx
