My New Band Believe: "My New Band Believe"

Cover art for My New Band Believe by Cameron Picton.

Jade Read

President / Editor-In-Chief

April 10, 2026

Following the breakup of black midi, bassist Cameron Picton steps out with My New Band Believe. The name came to him in a fever-induced delirium while battling food poisoning on tour in China in August 2023. The project’s self-titled debut marks a new era for Picton, giving him the space to step out from the background and fully immerse himself in his own songwriting and sound.

The sessions featured a rotating cast of musicians, including members of shame, caroline, Jockstrap and Black Country, New Road. They all come from the same post-Brexit London underground scene, shaped by uncertainty around the country’s future and a rejection of the mainstream. That push has forced the scene into its own corner, one that has only recently started to feel like the center of the room.

The album leans into the more subtle, folk-leaning elements that were always present in Black Midi, now pushed to the forefront. Somewhere along the line, the UK moved away from the kind of psychedelic folk that once defined generations, tied to artists like Syd Barrett, Donovan and Nick Drake. Picton leans fully into that space here, using My New Band Believe to explore it on his own terms.

Even with those clear influences, the album feels distinct. The closest comparison is something like the soundtrack to a grimdark retelling of “Alice in Wonderland,” though trying to pin it down too tightly feels unnecessary. It works better as something to interpret than define.

What once felt like fragments of Picton’s ideas within black midi now opens up fully. The moments hinted at in “Diamond Stuff” and “Eat Men Eat” expand into a full statement of his creative direction across My New Band Believe.

The album opens with the delicate, lyrically dense “Target Practice,” before shifting into the chaotic “In the Blink of an Eye,” which sets a darker tone for what follows. That energy carries into “Heart of Darkness,” a standout. It is haunting, with pinch harmonics forming a repetitive undercurrent that mirrors the vocals and acts as the only real sense of stability.

In the middle of the album, the lead single “Love Story” follows “Heart of Darkness” and keeps that same atmosphere while softening it slightly. The lyrics feel like a mind unraveling while speaking about love, while the instrumentation plays out like something cinematic, telling a full story in 3 minutes, 46 seconds.

“Pearls” comes next, one of the most emotional points on the album. It leaves space for silence, where it feels like you are just observing what is happening in the room, before moving into “Opposite Teacher.” That track stands as one of the most complete on the record. Each section builds on what came before while still becoming something new. The vocals grow rawer, and the instruments move in tighter sync even as they compete for the forefront.

“Actress” follows with an operatic melody that pushes the production to one of its highest points on the album. The instrumentals feel cinematic, and Picton sounds fully settled into his role at the center of it all.

“One Night” brings things back down, closing the album on a more restrained, mellow note. Overall, My New Band Believe feels like a revival of psychedelic folk rooted in the modern London underground. It plays like a time-displaced folk artist stepping into a present-day studio, bridging something old with something still taking shape.

Writer: Jade Read

Editor: Stephanie Rodriguez