Thursday night marked the first ever Sydney show for exciting young UK band Black Country, New Road. As part of their maiden Australian tour, they had the pleasure of playing the Sydney Opera House. The show was long sold out and the crowd was enthusiastic to say the least. Black Country, New Road are a fascinating band. They released two highly acclaimed albums, but on the eve of their second album release in early 2022 band leader Isaac Wood left the band. But the other six members decided to carry on, but not play any of 'his music' live. Eventually they would release a live album named 'Live at Bush Hall'. So they came to Sydney and I wasn't actaully sure what would be played. In the end they played about half of the live album and quite a few new songs. So it was a slightly surreal experience to be witness to so much fresh music. I also felt that since Wood left the band's music has changed a bit. It still has post-rock influences but is even more orchestral and floral now. The band use a number of instruments. Not just guitar, bass and drums. But saxophone, flute, violin and even banjo. It makes for a heady mix, even if some songs work better than others. They use four main singers, so there is a lot of variety and variance through out the set. The absolute highlight was 'Turbines/Pigs', which was epic and massive. It even received a standing ovation, something I never seen before. So all in all a very interesting night from a very exciting band.

Set List
For the Cold Country
The Boy
24/7 365 British Summer Time
Socks
Geese
Laughing Song
Horses 
Across the Pond Friend
Nancy Tries to Take the Night
Turbines/Pigs
Dancers
Up Song (Reprise)