Album Review // My New Band Believe // My New Band Believe
4 / 5 Stars
If you have followed alternative rock in the past decade, you have likely heard of the United Kingdom's Windmill scene. Named after the eponymous Brixton club, this musical movement birthed a slew of the most exciting, theatrical bands in recent memory: Shame, Caroline, Black Country New Road, and, seminally, Black Midi. However, as Black Midi announced an indefinite hiatus in August 2024, bassist and co-vocalist Cameron Picton had little planned in terms of a follow-up. After touring and releasing a few CD-exclusive solo projects, Picton's vision of a new band formed when Caroline reached out with an interest in collaboration. Completed in December 2025 and released in April 2026, Cameron Picton has unveiled his newest effort, My New Band Believe. Rather than sticking with the traditional lineup format, Believe is fluid in its membership and artistry. While Picton stays as frontman, a collection of more than 50 musicians serve as collaborators on the effort, encompassing the majority of the Windmill scene. The result is a debut project with a massive scale: ornately lush and worldly strings and horns meld together in a fashion akin to the best chamber and baroque tunes of their respective eras. All the while, Picton and a choir regale us with picturesque narratives of love and loss. The authorship on tracks such as "Love Story," "Actress," and the non-album single "Numerology" feels like an artist unencumbered by the confines of their genre or sound, free to make whatever their hearts desire. Whatever My New Band Believe has in store, there's no doubt about its authenticity and expression.
