The Plaza, Stockport – Live Review

Black Country, New Road
The Plaza, Stockport
7th April 2025

The experimental collective play new album Forever, Howlong in its entirety for the first time.

Stockport’s Plaza Theatre appeared to be enjoying something of a renaissance, much like the town itself. Upon arrival, you quickly understand why; it’s a beautifully preserved art deco gem, smaller than comparable spaces like Manchester’s Apollo and London’s Troxy, but oozing just as much old-world grandeur. The neon-lit frontage feels like one of the theatre’s few concessions to the modern age; inside, the staff are exclusively dressed in sharp black-tie, and black-and-white photographs of the stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age line the corridors – the Plaza remains an operational single-screen cinema. It is a throwback, but a wonderfully endearing one.

Many epithets have been attached to Black Country, New Road during their still-fledgling career, but throwback is definitely not one of them. The experimental six-piece appear to be inventing their own musical language in front of our eyes and arrive tonight for the first show in support of Forever Howlong, their third album, released just three days prior. They play it in full tonight, front-to-back, and nothing else. Their refusal to reach further back into the catalogue comes with good reason; former frontman Isaac Wood left the band abruptly days before the release of their second album, Ants from Up There, in 2022.

The remaining members immediately decided to consign the previous incarnation of the band to history, writing an entire set’s worth of new material to play at the dates that were booked in support of Ants – something documented on their 2023 live album Live at Bush Hall, which remains the only official document of those songs. Forever Howlong, then, marks their official rebirth, and it is one that puts clear blue water between the old iteration of Black Country, New Road and the new one.

The record is presented tastefully and faithfully; while the members often switch positions and instruments, the songs cleave closely to their studio versions. The core of the transition from the Wood era to this new one is, of course, in the vocals; whereas his murky Sprechgesang previously provided the musical throughline, singing duties are now split roughly evenly between the softer, airier voices of Georgia Ellery, May Kershaw and Tyler Hyde. They use harmonisation sparingly but when they do, it’s always a set highlight, especially on the gorgeous Mary.

The instrumentation is different now, even if some hallmarks of the old Black Country still linger; unusual song structures and a penchant for certain instrumental flourishes, like Ellery’s violin and Lewis Evans’ one-man woodwind section. There’s a heavy Baroque feel to these new songs, all twinkly strings and plucked mandolins, which complements the heavy influence of classic British folk groups on Forever Howlong; Socks and For the Cold Country are obvious cases in point. And as they weave in and out of each other musically, you catch them flashing grins at each other from time to time, as if in appreciation of the fact that they re getting away with such an audacious reinvention.

Only on closer Happy Birthday to really get a clear glimpse of the old band;  it ends in noisy, heady fashion, the outro the closest thing to an out and out jam we get all night. But the fact that a near-capacity crowd have decamped to this charming old theatre on a Monday night to hear this new direction suggests the audience are very happy to be along on this exhilarating new ride. Stockport’s claims to be “the new Berlin” are becoming less ironic with each passing month, and that such a creatively ambitious young band would launch their latest era here only endorses that further.

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Black Country, New Road can be found at their website | Facebook | Instagram

Words by Joe Goggins: find him on X here.

Photos by Andrew Twambley. You can see his Author profile here, and can view his work here