black midi. Photo by Atiba Jefferson.
The FADER’s “Songs You Need” are the tracks we can’t stop playing. Check back every day for new music and follow along on our Spotify playlist.
If someone asked me for a quick introduction to what makes black midi special, I'd recommend their three-song EP Cavalcovers. The band's curious spirit is perfectly represented in their covers of King Crimson ("21st Century Schizoid Man,") Taylor Swift ("Love Song,") and Captain Beefheart ("Moonlight on Vermont") even if the steel wire-tense experimental post-punk they're known for is loosened up slightly to showcase the strength of the original compositions. It's also what makes their albums Schlagenheim and Cavalcade as good as they are, this sense of self-control over the riots they unleash that's almost surprising as the chaos itself.
"Eat Men Eat," the second single from black midi's third album Hellfire, is another unexpected transmission from the band and a pitch-perfect channeling of their signature restless energy. Flamenco guitar spurs the song forward as Geordie Greep, singing ambitious and literary-minded lyrics from bassist Cameron Picton, describes an anti-corporate fantasy thriller that would make Ted Chiang smile. The atmosphere is pure black midi, but the planet they've landed on is somewhere thrillingly new, even for this perpetually forward-pushing band. Hear it in the music video below, directed by Maxim Kelly.
