black midi - Cavalcade

Album Review

May 28

Written By Sam Eeckhout

black midi

Cavalcade

By: Sam Eeckhout

Cavalcade is more of a diagonal step than a definite step forward. Instead of 'putting it all together,' black midi rips it apart further.

If there were an award for an album cover that most accurately captures the music on the album - Cavalcade would win.

Black midi returns two years after their debut and chaotic album Schlagenheim made waves for its creativity, technical musicianship, and genuinely absorbing listening experience. We didn’t hold back - we called it "incredibly frantic, intentionally sloppy, wildly ambitious, and spastic."

If you could see your brain while listening to Cavalcade - it would be leaning forwards on its chair, head forward, and eyebrows listening intently while slightly impressed.

After Schlagenheim, the question became - Will black midi take that step forward? Will they make their identity more cohesive while elevating and expanding their sound? At this point, it might sound crazy to suggest black midi's sound could ever be 'cohesive' when they so intentionally prefer the chaotic - but Cavalcade is more of a diagonal step than a definite step forward. Instead of 'putting it all together,' black midi rips it apart further.

Let's call a spade a spade - Cavalcade is musically very impressive. The band is oozing talent and too creative for its own good. It's urgent music - pushing the pace forward so impatiently, it's almost uncomfortable. Look up antonyms for calming, and you've got a description for Cavalcade: It's restless, turbulent, and unsettled.

Black midi took the time given by a global pandemic to pause from relentless touring and provide us with persistent tension. If nothing else, they're comfortable in it and are as tuned in with each other as ever. Opener “John L” gets us sitting up in our chair immediately, and when we think we're off to the races, “Marlene Dietrich” gives us a momentary pause before the rest of the album pushes us to the finish line.

From the punishing outro of “Slow”, to the most focused track “Dethroned” that slowly unravels before our ears - to the ode to music nerds on “Ascending Fourths”, Cavalcade is nothing if not entertaining. But while appreciating music is one thing and enjoying it is another, black midi misses the mark in terms of taking their talents and doing something exceptional.

Is it unfair to expect more from the more talented? It's fair to expect more of those more capable. Their ambition to explore is exciting, but the repetitive exploration ironically gets boring. But like lead singer Geordie Greep so rightly told The Quietus, "I mean, we're only 20 or whatever."

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