Black Country, New Road – “Track X (The Guest)”
Black Country, New Road have shared a new version of “Track X” from their debut album For The First Time. “Track X” is the penultimate song, the one that includes the memorable lyric “I told you I loved you in front of Black Midi.” It’s already one of the prettiest, quietest songs on the album, but the freshly released “Track X (The Guest)” strips the song back even farther.
Before forming Black Country, New Road, vocalist Isaac Wood used to perform “Track X” solo acoustic under the name “The Guest.” That’s the version the group shared today. “This version is where the lyrics for ‘Track X’ originally came from,” Wood explains in a press release. “It’s an old story, with some simple guitar playing and has the extra lyrics in the chorus. It’s ‘The Guest’ version, written about 2 years ago in this format and we thought it would make for a good accomplice to the album.” Wood’s refrain: “Oh I guess in some way I’ve always been the guest.”
With its gentle orchestration and gorgeous female backing vocals, the album version of “Track X” almost sounds like an old Illinois-era Sufjan Stevens song. Whereas “Track X (The Guest)” sounds more like Xiu Xiu. Hear both spins on the song below.