‘Sad and afraid’: Black Country frontman quits on eve of album launch

“We didn’t know when we’d be able to perform live so we got into a room together and started writing music – and when you’re writing music in that environment you don’t want to make music that’s abrasive, you want to make music that’s open and a comfort to everyone in the room with you, and it was. When you share it with the world you run the risk of overexposing yourself.”

Their 2021 debut album For The First Time was a riotous melange of post-punk guitars, lush strings, wails of saxophone atop a mad, ritualistic dance of improvised instrumentals and percussion. It provided a manic backdrop to the wonderfully dark, offbeat humour of Wood’s skewering lyrics. On tracks that ranged from three to 10 minutes his quiver-voiced, nervy delivery heightened his wavering between paranoia and resigned acceptance of his own mediocrity.

It scooped a Mercury Music Prize nomination and critics raved (“utterly mesmerising”, “a triumph”, “one of the best albums of 2021”).

The new album has more joyful departures into instrumental revelries mid-track, with Concorde erupting into a melee of mandolin, horns, and on the chorus, three overdubbed tracks of Wood’s vocals.

But what now? The six-strong band (Hyde, Evans, Wayne, violinist Georgia Ellery, keyboardist May Kershaw and guitarist Luke Mark) intend to continue.

“We’ve done two songs, but that’s it. We’re not going to put pressure on ourselves to do anything in particular, or put any pressure on anyone in particular to sing all the songs, because look how that ends up, you know?” Evans says with a resigned laugh.

“I think it’s the friendships which completely transcend all of the music, which has always been the underlying [feature] of the group,” reflects Wayne. “We’ve been friends first always, and situationally musicians. That’s the governing principle, that if you have that really, really strong bond that you all share, and it’s strengthened by the experiences that you go through, you’re galvanised by that to continue to be creative in spite of the adversities.”

• Ants From Up There is out now.

A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.