Cavalcade
by Black Midi
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 46
  3. Negative: 1 out of 46
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  1. bailey-
    May 29, 2021
    9
    I thought that black midi would struggle to top Schlagenheim and I was wondering where they would go after such an amazing album, however, after hearing early versions of John L and Chondromalacia Patella, I knew that this album was going to be bigger and better than the last one. Tracks such as Marlene Dietrich and Ascending Fourth makes you question if this was the same band you firstI thought that black midi would struggle to top Schlagenheim and I was wondering where they would go after such an amazing album, however, after hearing early versions of John L and Chondromalacia Patella, I knew that this album was going to be bigger and better than the last one. Tracks such as Marlene Dietrich and Ascending Fourth makes you question if this was the same band you first heard in 2019. But they smash it out of the park on this. There wasn't much wrong with this album at all and I'm eager to see what's next for black midi.

    Best Tracks: John L, Chondromalacia Patella, Slow, Diamond Stuff, Dethroned, Hogwash and Balderdash, Ascending Fourth

    Worst Tracks: Marlene Dietrich if I had to pick one    … Expand
  2. thepacificgamer
    Jun 2, 2021
    10
    Colour color; odour ogre symphony, lordee pedigree – clever test to ear, hear: chancellors, the best ever, beyond queer.

    %>%

    ; | ; 0 {oups}

    %>%

    Exclaim:
    "Modernizes a smart and well-expressing past party yacht fusion, Cavalcade is musicians evolving; it's beyond 'its' – as that record, their jazz calculated range ... is"

    %>%

    [zuzzy buzzy boyz]
  3. hysteric23
    May 28, 2021
    9
    A fantastic follow-up to a brilliant debut, this is confident, dense, intelligent, but above all thrilling and beautiful music. Hard to categorise like Schlagenheim, I suppose its a mix of jazz, prog and post-rock? (some of the instrumentation in the more gentle moments reminds me of Wild Beasts, oddly) Haha, a mix of styles which really shouldnt work on paper, but with a band thisA fantastic follow-up to a brilliant debut, this is confident, dense, intelligent, but above all thrilling and beautiful music. Hard to categorise like Schlagenheim, I suppose its a mix of jazz, prog and post-rock? (some of the instrumentation in the more gentle moments reminds me of Wild Beasts, oddly) Haha, a mix of styles which really shouldnt work on paper, but with a band this adventurous and talented, it just does. Amazing.… Expand
  4. Elioy
    May 31, 2021
    9
    An album that evokes and honours the spirit of classic prog without sounding redundant. No song on this one is a filler. And they're only 21. Gonna be the best band around in the next decade.
  5. Dunsweet21
    Jul 4, 2021
    0
    Like that
  6. AlexMane
    Jun 19, 2021
    4
    The band's drive for finding new sounds is admirable, but unfortunately their reach far exceeds the grasp, so the album is riddled with awkward moments and underdeveloped ideas.
  7. Tango80
    Aug 12, 2021
    7
    Good album. Not quite as good as their first. Still great to have them around but I feel they need to branch out and push the boundaries a bit more. Towards the end of the album I struggled to fully connect. Not without trying though - listened to it 4 times in a row. They have got so much promise though and can see them unleashing some awesome albums over the next decade but for me thisGood album. Not quite as good as their first. Still great to have them around but I feel they need to branch out and push the boundaries a bit more. Towards the end of the album I struggled to fully connect. Not without trying though - listened to it 4 times in a row. They have got so much promise though and can see them unleashing some awesome albums over the next decade but for me this was a temporary stumble.… Expand
  8. Acid3P
    Mar 1, 2022
    8
    21:15, smoky theatre somewhere in the basement of a shabby building in the worse neighbourhood of the metropolis: strange men in black turtlenecks with absent looks scoop up with rusty shovels the fragments of old psychedelic records and throw them into a prepared mixing bowl on the stage. Another member of this avant-garde theatre pours hectolitres of whiskey over the mix...
    ......that's    21:15, smoky theatre somewhere in the basement of a shabby building in the worse neighbourhood of the metropolis: strange men in black turtlenecks with absent looks scoop up with rusty shovels the fragments of old psychedelic records and throw them into a prepared mixing bowl on the stage. Another member of this avant-garde theatre pours hectolitres of whiskey over the mix...
    ......that's exactly what Cavalcade is    … Expand
  9. MuddyTuba
    Sep 3, 2021
    9
    This album is an incredible experience that I wish more people would be willing to try,
  10. Bruh8
    Dec 4, 2021
    10
    This album can only be described as unbelievably spectacular. This is definitely my album of the decade so far.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Discussed Album of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. The Wire
    Jul 28, 2021
    80
    Their second album offers something new and exciting. Their music is intricate and complex but also intense and fierce with bold, contrasting sections. [Aug 2021, p.55]
  2. Dusted Magazine
    Jul 8, 2021
    80
    The album is beautifully sequenced overall. Sometimes the transitions purposefully jar and provoke—elsewhere they’re seamless, prolonging, elongating a motif.
    Read full review
  3. The Quietus
    Jun 4, 2021
    90
    Each track is a universe of its own, doing what art should do: using its own virtual space as an experimental testing ground to try those limits of taboo and impossibility that remain limited IRL. ... Cavalcade may prove to be one of the most accomplished albums of 2021; future classic of a happily undefined now-core genre. Humanity, level up. If they are giving us any taste of the immediate future, let the roaring twenties roll.
    Read full review
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