Ants From Up There
by Black Country, New Road
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 250 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 220 out of 250
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 250
  3. Negative: 23 out of 250
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. RegenT_A_1300
    Dec 20, 2022
    0
    this album is especially magnificent in showing the qualities of life. this album brings emotion only one of high intelligence can record to, my favourite thing about the album is that stated from Anthony fantano "this album Is bad" that's a real quote that was inserted by biog dicks dicks dicks. so Denzel is better and this album is ass and is worse than FERRIS BULLER'S BIGGGGGG DAYYYYY OFFFFFFFF
  2. Manny90210
    Oct 21, 2022
    0
    I know one thing for sure..............................................................
  3. Bolyf
    Jun 21, 2022
    1
    I very nearly switched off halfway through and by the end of the album I wish I had. There were some interesting moments - the odd dramatic drum build up or soaring violin refrain - but I was never ‘grabbed’ and they just reminded me of similar elements in other bands’ music, bands that I found myself desperately wanting to listen to instead. To me, no one song stands out on this album.I very nearly switched off halfway through and by the end of the album I wish I had. There were some interesting moments - the odd dramatic drum build up or soaring violin refrain - but I was never ‘grabbed’ and they just reminded me of similar elements in other bands’ music, bands that I found myself desperately wanting to listen to instead. To me, no one song stands out on this album. And whilst I often love an album that works as a whole and tells a spiralling story and takes me on a complete journey, with this I found the journey from song to song incredibly arduous, boring and repetitive. I would look forward to a song ending in the hope the next would be a good one… but that cycle just repeated ad infinitum with increasing frustration. And Wood’s voice, which at the start of the album was as an intriguingly uncanny reminder of Orlando from The Maccabees, was really grating on me by the end. To the point that when I read he had left just before the album launched, I felt awkwardly more optimistic about their future output. I must be missing something. Everyone else seems to be writing glowing reviews. But to me they are a poor black and white photocopy mishmash of the indie bands I was listening to in the mid-2000s with nothing particularly original added. I usually love classical instruments on indie tracks… but this never hooked me here. I’m often a sucker for introspective lyrics and songs that build and sway… but these just droned on and irritated me beyond belief. On paper, I should like this album… but my god I was glad when it finished and I could put something else on.… Expand
  4. Zeraora
    Feb 22, 2022
    3
    Generic out-of-tune indie rock with artsy arrangement, a dry upfront sound, and a vocalist that sure could use a singing lesson or two. It gets noisy, but not in a energic kind of way, it's just annoying noise. The guitar players pluck a string, the bass player plucks a string in bar three, a horn comes in at bar 6 and the drummer bangs randomly at the drums in bar 8. I have heard it soGeneric out-of-tune indie rock with artsy arrangement, a dry upfront sound, and a vocalist that sure could use a singing lesson or two. It gets noisy, but not in a energic kind of way, it's just annoying noise. The guitar players pluck a string, the bass player plucks a string in bar three, a horn comes in at bar 6 and the drummer bangs randomly at the drums in bar 8. I have heard it so many times, and it may sound original, but this is nothing new.… Expand
  5. JakiraJakira
    Feb 19, 2022
    3
    A few songs are good but it sounds like an amalgam of music pulling from way too many genres to make any sense. Sit for too long and you will get a headache.
    Also, I think the previous lead singer might need voice coaching or exposure to auto-tune. It sounds like the vocals were recorded in a single take.

Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Best Album of 2022
27
#27 Most Discussed Album of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
92

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. Pitchfork
    Feb 8, 2022
    84
    Knowing how it all ends does nothing to detract from the joy Black Country, New Road have poured into Ants From Up There—not when they spend every second reminding us of why we let ourselves get swept up in these beautifully doomed fantasies to begin with.
    Read full review
  2. Glide Magazine
    Feb 7, 2022
    90
    Ants From Up Here is a thrilling listen, brimming with the confidence and electricity of a young band coming into their own on all fronts, pulling from the past but pushing it undeniably forward, and fully owning their ambition.
    Read full review
  3. The New York Times
    Feb 7, 2022
    90
    Throughout “Ants From Up Here,” and through the course of every song, Black Country, New Road tests and reinvents itself, creating music that sounds both intricately plotted and precarious.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »