"John L" is a song by English rock band

Black Midi Black MIDI is a music genre consisting of compositions that use MIDI files to create a song or a remix containing a large number of notes. People who make black MIDIs are known as blackers. However, there are no specific criteria of what is cons ...

, released in 2021 as the lead single from their second studio album, ''

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass trail ride by a company of riders. The focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display. Often, the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. Often, a cava ...

''. The song describes the story of a powerful leader, the titular John L, who is eventually betrayed and killed by his followers. It was released on March 23, with the B-side Despair and a music video directed by Nina McNeely. A 12-inch release for the single was made available for pre-order on the same day and released on April 9. The song is one of few on ''Cavalcade'' to have writing credits for guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, written before his departure from the band but recorded after.

Composition and recording

"John L" is an

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

song described by ''

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'' as " eaturingdissonant piano chimes, weaving hypnotic vocals, a cacophony of string sounds, and an edge-of-the-seat dynamic range, spanning from complete silence to raucous, high-energy midsections." ''Mixdown Magazine'' similarly described the song as "featuring explosive drumming and anxious staccato strings." Violinist Jerskin Fendrix was brought on for the song, whose contributions ''Joyzine'' compared to

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra were a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of activity, from 1971 to 1976 a ...

. Unlike the rest of the songs on ''Cavalcade'', which were recorded with John "Spud" Murphy in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, "John L" was recorded with

Marta Salogni Marta Salogni is an Italian record producer, mixer and recording engineer. Salogni's musical background was cultivated in her native Italy between the small towns of Capriolo and Brescia, where she spent her formative years, collaborating with ...

in London. Salogni would later go on to produce the band's third album, '' Hellfire''. The song features the sound of a helicopter unintentionally captured by studio microphones as it flew overhead. The helicopter pilot is humorously credited among the rest of the band.

Track listing

Critical reception

"John L" was awarded Best New Track by ''

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''. In the website's review for the song, Sam Sodomsky wrote "the triumph of 'John L' is not that these well-trained musicians continue to confound expectations: It's that they have become so adept at their brand of dissonant, skronking, avant-prog that it actually sounds sort of anthemic." In a review for ''Joyzine'', Andrew Wood described the song as 'as good as anything they’ve so far released' but was disappointed by the vocals, saying "there’s no attempt at singing here, just a story recited, but in a strange American style ccent. Jeff Terich of ''Treblezine'' felt "it has an exhilarating feeling that all control is bound to be lost, which might well be the band’s greatest talent—reining in chaos just enough to feel like the chaos might ultimately win, but never quite gets there."

Personnel

* Geordie Greep – vocals, Reverend Descent, Fret King Elise, acoustic piano,

Minimoog Voyager The Minimoog Voyager or Voyager is a monophonic analog synthesizer, designed by Robert Moog and released in 2002 by Moog Music. The Voyager was modeled after the classic Minimoog synthesizer that was popular in the 1970s, and is meant to be a suc ...

* Cameron Picton –

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* Morgan Simpson – Ludwig Pro Beat Vistalite Kit * Kaidi Akinnibi – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone * Jerskin Fendrix - violin * Helicopter pilot - helicopter

References

{{Black Midi 2021 songs 2021 singles Black Midi songs Rough Trade Records singles