Following the dissolution of experimental rock group black midi, the band’s former bassist and vocalist Cameron Picton began to reconfigure, drifting from the rock maelstrom of his previous band and scaffolding what would eventually evolve into his latest project My New Band Believe. Developing a sound between the dissonance of exhaustion following the disbandment and his ambition to start afresh, Picton continued to perform, playing various solo shows and even supporting Black Country, New Road in 2024. This process led to the beginning of the explosively mythical and radiant songs that form his new album.
The idiosyncratic moniker My New Band Believe was a hallucinatory fragment from Picton’s feverish experience when taken ill in China, a delirious state that has been said to have influenced the essence of the record as well as lyrically. Though Picton leads the band, it is largely a rolling collective featuring numerous interim contributors such as Caius Williams, Steve Noble, and Kiran Leonard as well as Jasper Llewellyn and Mike O'Malley from the band caroline. Picton describes the band as “so loose in terms of what it is”, with an adaptive perspective on its growth, but currently assumes lead vocals for all released songs.
The album is entirely acoustic and spectacularly arranged, with Picton’s multi-instrumentalist talents marvelling here to curate a vortex of strings, percussion, piano and even toy accordion. His maximalist style has conjured a post-punk orchestral mutation of the singer-songwriter and embraces hypnotic theatricality at every bend. My New Band Believe’s experimental nature has roots in black midi tracks such as ‘Eat Men Eat’ and ‘Still’, and is also steered by Picton’s sensitive, Elliot Smith-esque vocals. Alas, the album fusions of orchestral dynamite are also underscored by dextrous detail, adorning an elaborate synthesis of jazz, folk, and rock.
The album opens with the fantastical ‘Target Practice’, a prologue-esque launch into the theatrical tone for the rest of the record, which culminates in an enchanting choral repetition of “don’t cry you deserve this, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry” only to be sharply slashed by the runaway drums and guitar of ‘In the Blink of an Eye’. The first two tracks also perfectly showcase the album’s embrace of narrative style, with each song lyrically targeting an anonymous addressee whilst in the first person. ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ depicts lines of romance slashed by bitterness “I wish you would kiss me before it’s all too late”, and Picton permeates the song with eeriness and unease, featuring strings that reach a haunting crescendo, but are suddenly muted.
Picton masterfully weaves a fleeting storyteller between songs, which soars within epic eight-minute tracks ‘Heart of Darkness’ and ‘Actress’. Taking the name of the Joseph Conrad novella, the western guitar riffs and journeying lyrics of ‘Heart of Darkness’ embark listeners on a mysterious expedition with “a long, long, long, long way to go, through fields of hope”. The track resolves in an interlude of soft finger-pricked strings and metal clanging, somewhat waiting for the explosion to resume once more. The lyrically dense ‘Actress’ exhibits a long soliloquy with beguiling lyrics contrasting a friend’s dreams against their real-life volatility.
The album withholds an unbound pace, both sonically and semantically, with the pre-released single ‘Love Story’ departing from the orchestral radiance and insisting on a piano-driven, painfully romantic track. The track opens with a recorded improvised piano introduction, ascending from a solemn nature to a refined sweetness, accompanied by Picton’s gentle vocals: “you are the love of my life, nothing compares to a lonely minute with you”.
Amid grandiose songs, Picton controls the fluctuation of tone across the album, focussing on the lovable tenderness of everyday tasks in this standout track: “do you want potatoes or rice tonight? Pick up some onions, I’m making dinner”. Citing the collaborative folk album Bert and John as a significant influence on his use of the guitar, Picton strips back the layers to emphasise simplicity and earnestness. But complexity is never lost, as within this seemingly sweet song comes the fleeting sense of romance as it is revealed the one loved is no longer in reach, “I pull you close in the night / But you’re not there”.
There is an overarching theme of dreaming and reality throughout the album, intertwining with the concept of belief which manifests itself aurally through Picton’s enchanting instrumentals. It also acts as a lyrical motif, used to describe the likeness of oneself to the traits of their parents in ‘Opposite Teacher’ — “I dream I’m running from a picture of me in the twilight" — or the promise of granting wishes in ‘Pearls’ — “we’ll dig up your dreams”.
This dreamlike quality is significantly apparent in the closing track ‘One Night’, a sister song to ‘Love Story’ as well as ‘Numerology’, a non-album single that preceded the record’s release. 'One Night' is sincerely vulnerable, depicting a painful longing for affection and intimacy that cannot be found in short-lived encounters. The lyric “you’re borrowing my dreams” almost second-handedly serves a way of describing the album itself and Picton’s distinction as a musician.
Listening to My New Band Believe feels like borrowing the dream of Picton, at times non-sensical and mysterious, changing paths and blending genres constantly, remaining dynamic yet contemplative. It becomes a dream you too want to believe in, as the self-titled album is an incredibly captivating and stunning release decorated with Picton’s symphonic expertise.
https://open.spotify.com/album/0FypCc1StF9mNiLemcuJ3J?si=eQPp_qg4TYG_X8VKM9NDIg
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