Black Midi

• Schlagenheim [Rough Trade, 2019] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Schlagenheim [Rough Trade, 2019]
This young g-g-b-d is such a sensation in Britain its reviews there read like competing thesis abstracts, and while all the talk of math-rock, King Crimson, and Japanese genres I've never heard of might discourage a geezer like me from applying his magnifying glass to the lyric booklet, he'd already Spotified their album in the wake of a good-humored Pitchfork rave and was reminded of Pavement and 75 Dollar Bill. The drummer is the virtuoso, the bassist the rock, the unmatched guitars the sound, and singer Geordie Greep . . . well, as Pitchfork guy Jeremy D. Larson put it: "Imagine someone with the name 'Geordie Greep' and that's exactly what he sounds like." On their hysterical breakthrough "bmbmbm," Greep deploys his unhinged upper register to repeat variants on the phrase "She moves with a purpossse" until you're ready for a closer that ends with the Polish words for please, thank you, and goodbye. Message: Brexit lurks. A-