Ants From Up There

Chills

I love this album. Wish I could've seen them live while Isaac was still in the band because I don't think they've quite captured the same magic since unfortunately. This still stands as their magnum opus to this day in my eyes. It really feels like the closest thing we've gotten to a true successor to Funeral since.

I've been a fan of this band since the day their first album came out, so they hold a special place for me. Back then they were much more punky, along with their post-rock soundscapes, but this album saw a shift to primarily chamber pop music.

The album is pop music for most of its runtime, with two long post-rock tracks at the end. The pop is very well made but pretty inconsistent, I feel like it stops and starts a little too much with not a great flow. This section ends with the song "The Place Where He Inserted the Blade" which is very overly dramatic and bordering on musical, but I think it shows the strengths and flaws of BCNR as a whole, this is easily the strongest pop songwriting on the album but also has some of the most cringiest lyrics in their catalogue (a staple for BCNR). The last two songs are brilliant and my favourite section of the album as the album finally starts to enter some consistency. I think Bread Song would have been a better fit with these last two songs, as it's currently surrounded by the more poppier tracks like Concorde and Chaos Space Marine.

Should it be in the main list: Yes 100%, and I'm very surprised it's not in the next edition

Top 3 songs: The Place Where He Inserted the Blade, Snow Globes, Basketball Shoes

Not as heavy as I would have expected, more folky and americana influenced. Good solid album, which I would probably have got even more into with a bit more time to listen a few more times through - no time for that though; there's another album waiting!

Favourite songs: Concorde, Haldern, Good Will Hunting, Basketball Shoes

Least favourite songs: Bread Song

3/5

A straight hour of slow rock. Every song a dirge. Instrumentation's at least got some complexity, but this one seems like one of those that people enjoy for mostly inside baseball reasons

I really fucking hated this. Overwrought and needy. Music like this died in 2010 for a reason.

There's a few songs on here that I like but the album itself is just meh overall.

overrated

Yes, brilliant choice. I was completely obsessed with this album when it came out. Isaac leaving the band just before its release only further cemented as an instant cult classic, and it’s easily one of my favourite post-2020 records.

That said, it does cast a long shadow. I love this album so much that post-Isaac BCNR just doesn’t really land for me, it feels like something essential is missing.