The original founders of the band consisted of Tyler Hyde vocals, bass , Lewis Evans vocals, flute, saxophone , Georgia Ellery violin, backing vocals , May Kershaw vocals, keys , Charlie Wayne drums, backing vocals and Isaac Wood guitar, lead vocals ; they added their then-seventh member, guitarist Luke Mark, in The band gained initial attention through singles "Athens, France" and " Sunglasses " in , which combined features of experimental rock , [ 1 ] post-punk [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and post-rock, [ 4 ] drawing comparisons to bands such as Slint and contemporaries such as Black Midi.
Four days before the release of their second album Ants from Up There , Wood left the band, citing mental health struggles. Following the departure of Wood, the band immediately began work on new material, with Hyde, Evans and Kershaw sharing lead vocal duties. After touring throughout , the band released the concert film Live at Bush Hall , in February followed by an album in March of that year , featuring several new compositions and songs that had been written since Wood's departure.
The ensemble, without Browne and Pyke, reconvened soon after as Black Country, New Road, a six-piece named after a road in the West Midlands in England, [ 10 ] which Wood suggested after using Wikipedia's 'random article' button. Their debut single, "Athens, France", released on 18 January , and was pressed on a limited run of 7-inch singles via Speedy Wunderground.
This second single released on 25 July , via Blank Editions, and had three different 7-inch pressings: the first was limited to copies and had a unique picture assembled onto the cover by the band themselves, the second limited to with the cover art featuring a marching band , and the third with an unknown number of copies and a picture of the band assembling the first pressing.
The single gained the attention and acclaim of many critics; Stereogum noted the wide variety of genre influences on the track, describing it as a "wild ride", [ 13 ] and John Doran of The Quietus lauded the group on the back of " Sunglasses " as the "best in the entire world". Their fourth single, "Track X", was released on 11 January On 31 January , lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Wood announced his sudden departure from the band four days before the release of Ants From Up There via the band's Instagram, citing struggles with his mental health.
