MY NEW BAND BELIEVE
My New Band Believe (Rough Trade)
I imagine when rock band Black Midi called it quits in 2023, they must have felt a sense of disjointedness – they had been performing together for six years after all. But it’s during this confusing and transitional period that the band’s bassist, Cameron Picton, started believing in a new dream.
I say ‘dream’ because that’s exactly what My New Band Believe’s self-titled debut sounds like. Here, Picton hangs up the rock sensibilities of his past work, and in doing so finds a sweet spot with a pivot to a more acoustic sound. That’s not to say, though, that this record is in any way quiet or small.From the expansive string section and child-like choral ensemble of opener Target Practice to the confessed intimacy expressed in Love Story – then foiled by the violent apathy illustrated in closer One Night – MNBB is anything but shy.
It’s Picton’s depiction of intimacy and nature, and his adept, otherworldly storytelling that feels on par with the vulnerable songwriting prowess of Big Thief’s Adrienne Lenker. “Life, life, you barely know what life is / Blink and you’ll miss it / There’ll be times you hollow where your pride is / And others where it swallows you,” Picton sings on Opposite Teacher, his voice a beautiful constant throughout the chaos of the album.
Each of its eight tracks are singular, yet morph seamlessly into each other like shifting scenes of a fever dream. What manifests is a frenzied but impressive record, grandiose in its possibilities — a soothing nightmare you’re unsure you want to wake up from.
words RHYS JAMES
