Black Midi to man their own ice cream van as heatwave hits UK

Black Midi will be taking to London later today, serving ice creams from their own ice cream van.

• READ MORE: Black Midi – ‘Hellfire’ review: intense first-person narratives fuel a genre-gnarling thrill ride

It comes as most of the UK is experiencing a heatwave, with London seeing temperatures exceed 40 degrees with the MET office issuing a “Red Extreme Heat Warning”.

Announcing their plans on social media, Black Midi wrote: “We’ll be running an ice cream van in London today, it’s gonna be at Soho square at 5pm and Peckham Rye Park at 7pm – if you’re in the area come and get an ice cream and other fun stuff – water pistols compulsory.”

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On Twitter, the band went on to confirm they’ll be selling copies of their new album ‘Hellfire’ alongside “a box of large somerset house exclusive tees and obviously lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of ICE CREAM.”

They also confirmed flakes and Soleros will hopefully also be on the menu.

Tomorrow in London – water pistols absolutely compulsory #hellfire pic.twitter.com/igbBkbhZQS

— black midi (@bmblackmidi) July 18, 2022

Black Midi released ‘Hellfire’ on Friday (July 15). Speaking about the new album, guitarist and vocalist Geordie Greep said: “If ‘Cavalcade’ [their last album] was a drama, ‘Hellfire’ is like an epic action film”. An accompanying statement added that it “delves into overlapping themes of pain, loss and anguish.”

In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Veering from zippy jazz, murky post-punk and opiated, dreamy psychedelia, ‘Hellfire’’s ever-shifting musical foundations are as unstable as frontman Geordie Greep’s frantic monologues.

“These fragmented first-person tales find Black Midi’s 22-year old vocalist/guitarist inhabiting the headspace of an inebriated, traumatised soldier on shore leave (‘Welcome To Hell’), an unhinged murderer stalking out his prey (‘Dangerous Liaisons’) and the question-spewing, sarcophagus-dwelling Freddie Frost on closer ‘27 Questions’. With his vocal character hard-swinging from that of a finger-snapping lounge act to a deranged, near-hysterical preacher in the vein of David Byrne, Greep has evolved into a captivating central figure.”

The heatwave has forced Andrew Bird to cancel his gig at Shepherd’s Bush Empire tonight (July 19), and seen Nintendo warn people not to use their Nintendo Switch in temperatures exceeding 35 degree Celsius. 

In a bid to battle the heat, UK cinema chain Showcase has announced that red-haired people will be given free tickets to films during the forthcoming heatwave.

The post Black Midi to man their own ice cream van as heatwave hits UK appeared first on NME.