black midi - Schlagenheim

June 21st, 2019.

Rough Trade

black midi made waves in a short space of time. Said waves built and built until they eventually reached shore through Schlagenheim. Those that were in the know were hit for six. How could a debut album be so fully materialised, in debt to the past, and also manage to bring something fresh to the table?

black midi's debut welcomed a giant to the contemporary ranks. The possibilities were limitless with this lot. They could run the whole gamut from day one - complexities within arms reach; beauty at the flick of a wrist. Name the game, black midi play it better than your favourite. Prodigious levels of instrumental maturity; Les Claypool levels of what-the-fuckery; God-gifted degrees of finger pickin' fervour. Some bands are complex for the sake of it - as if it's a prerequisite of quality. Some bands are complex because the essence of their sound requires it; to get across the breadth and depth of the artistic endeavours. Wider scopes, perspectives and metrics are needed to fully embrace the scale of potential, and in many ways already met potential, on show. Schlagenheim didn't only welcome a monolith to the ranks of the up-and-coming contemporary scene - a scene which featured, and would later feature, Black Country, New Road, Squid, Shame, Dry Cleaning and Just Mustard, amongst many others - it lead the charge. It was, and still is, a very fruitful period for bands that lean in to the well established routes of the post-punk/art rock aesthetic. 

Having seen black midi in 2019 on the tour for Schlagenheim, and the band leaving a few big songs off of the setlist, most notably bmbmbm - the crowd were not happy to say the least - you got the feeling that they were more than their music. The word enigma exists to be appendaged to names such as black midi. An ethos to push is an exciting one. 

black midi moves with a purpose.