Black Midi

Vinyl Records and Rare LPs:

	Cavalcade New Import - RT0212LP Sealed 2021 180gm Gatefold Black Vinyl Original. Sophomore Effort On Rough Trade, From The London Based Experimental Rockers. more
	Hellfire Colored Vinyl - Used - RT0321LPE 2022 US limited edition indie exclusive Red vinyl pressing, housed in a gatefold jacket. "Black Midi's early performance videos introduced the group as an absurdly talented bunch of music academy students overflowing with ideas, so it's no surprise that their sound has evolved so quickly. While their 2019 debut, Schlagenheim, was an overloaded, volatile mixture of post-punk and math rock, somewhat resembling a no wave band who grew up watching too much Ren & Stimpy, 2021's Cavalcade found the group exploring a lushly orchestrated avant-prog sound, switching between spiky, angular workouts and softer, more patient compositions. Hellfire moves further in this direction, but with a greater sense of showmanship. Lead vocalist Geordie Greep sounds more like a delirious carnival barker than before, and the music brings to mind Mr. Bungle and Fred Frith more so than the King Crimson-isms of Black Midi's past work. "Sugar/Tzu" even opens with a wrestling match-style announcement ("Let's see some thunder!") before launching into a dizzying riff, detouring into a few lighter passages but smashing back to ecstatic horn blasts and furious drumming. The mainly acoustic first half of "Eat Men Eat" is intimate yet energetic, and the song escalates into vengeful shrieking. "Welcome to Hell" highlights Greep's manic storytelling, beginning with a stately pop/rock beat and proceeding toward a thrashy, off-the-rails climax. "Still" starts out with gentle steel guitar, suggesting an attempt to write a country song, yet it gets divebombed with noise halfway through, before faintly drifting to the end. Seven-minute centerpiece "The Race Is About to Begin" impressively segues between frenetic, breathless ranting and starry crooning, and this sort of avant-lounge vibe continues throughout the remainder of the album. By the end of "27 Questions," you suspect that the band is in the process of writing a musical, or at the very least, the idea has crossed their minds." All Music Guide – Paul Simpson more
	Schlagenheim New Import - RT0073LP Sealed 2019 180gm Gatefold Original. "London Quartet Black Midi Gained Maximum Buzz With A Minimal Presence In The Press Or Online. Shortly After Graduating From The Brit School, The Performing Arts Institute That Also Served As An Incubator For Artists Like Adele And Ed Sheeran, The Members Of Black Midi Began Attracting Attention Through Their Untethered Live Shows And A Slow Release Of New Material. Before Debut Album Schlagenheim Arrived, The Band Existed Largely On Word-of-mouth Buzz And A Reputation Grown Off Of Three Or Four Songs. Schlagenheim Delivers On The Hype Surrounding The Band Without Seeming To Be Aware Of It Whatsoever. Decidedly Studio Creations, The Nine Songs On The Album Feel Meticulously Constructed But Still Convey The Nonstop Rush Of Energy From Black Midi's Explosive Live Shows. Singer Geordie Greep's Unconventional Singing Voice Is Never Lacking Confidence, And He Scream-talks Over Hypnotically Busy Blasts Of Noise And Rhythm Like Album Opener "953" And The Grinding Pulsation Of "Near Dt, Mi." The Wash Of Frenetic Playing Sometimes Threatens To Overwhelm The Songs, But The Deep Roots Of Cameron Picton's Minimal Post-punk Bass Lines Ground The Frantic Impulses Of His Bandmates. Picton Takes Over Vocals Here And There, As With The Bubbly But Awkward Pop Of "Speedway." Feral Playing, Willful Dissonance, And Lyrics About An Eroding Socioeconomic Landscape All Place Black Midi Firmly In A Post-punk Bracket, But That's A Lazy Classification. While Greep's Guttural Voice Will No Doubt Get Endless Comparisons To Mark E. Smith, His Vocals Follow No Discernible Blueprint For Their Alien Expressions. Similarly, The Songs Have Less In Common With Wire Or Obscure Factory Records Acts Than They Do With Perpetually Uncomfortable Indie Rock Bands Of The Late '90s And Early 2000s Like Slint, Shellac, And Unwound. With All The Bandmembers Still In Their Late Teens And Early Twenties, Schlagenheim Holds The Restless And Indefatigable Quest For New Directions That Young Bands At Their Best Can Tap Into. The Eight-minute "Western" Is A Great Example Of This, Shifting Quickly From Mellow Guitar Figures To Deerhoof-esque Syncopated Blasts Of Punk And Back, With A Banjo Gently Plucking In The Background. Less Than A Minute After The Song Ends, The Next Tune Has Already Shifted Through Ambient Textures Into Quasi-industrial Assaults Of Synth Bass. Endlessly Imaginative And Purposefully Fidgety, Black Midi's Debut Is A Colorful And Shifting Mass Of Ideas. The Level Of Driven Shape-shifting That Flows Throughout Would Suggest A Massive Discography Where No Two Albums Are Alike. As A First Chapter, Schlagenheim Crackles With The Same Excitement As Groundbreaking Records That Came Before It Did When Expanding The Known Boundaries Of Experimental Sounds." AMG Review By Fred Thomas. more
	Schlagenheim Used Import - RT0073LP 2019 180gm black vinyl in gatefold.Schlagenheim announced black midi as one of the most exciting and unpredictable bands of the late 2010s. The group's debut album is a thrilling collision of post-punk, math rock, noise rock, and experimental music, driven by jagged rhythms, explosive dynamics, and virtuosic musicianship. Every track feels on the verge of chaos, yet the band maintains remarkable precision throughout. Fueled by relentless energy and a refusal to follow convention, Schlagenheim rewards repeated listens with its intricate arrangements and unexpected twists. From the angular intensity of "953" to the frenetic power of "bmbmbm," the album captures a young band redefining the possibilities of modern rock. Bold, challenging, and wildly inventive, Schlagenheim remains one of the most acclaimed and influential debut albums of its era. more