Why Do People Undermine the Women of BCNR?

Long post lol.

I wrote an essay for one of my classes about how women’s experiences in the music industry are often overlooked or overshadowed by men. While writing it, I kept thinking about Black Country, New Road. Specifically how after Isaac left, the rest of the band (especially the three women) had to step in and take the lead.

Ever since Isaac's departure, the band's work has been constantly compared to the early works, with people saying it’s not as good. I’ve seen so many comments acting like the band is only temporary without Isaac, or like they’re just holding things together until he comes back. But the band didn’t fall apart—they adapted and created something new. Instead of appreciating that, a lot of people dismiss their work just because it’s different. This is part of a bigger pattern in music where women’s contributions are taken less seriously, treated as a downgrade, or only seen in relation to the men around them.

A perfect example of this happened when Live at Bush Hall came out. I saw so many people assuming that Tyler’s songs, like Up Song and Laughing Song, were about Isaac. These songs were written long ago, yet people still made them about him, as if everything the band does has to connect back to him somehow. But these are Tyler’s songs—her lyrics, her emotions, her work. And instead of letting them exist as they are, people erased her authorship by making them about someone else. This happens to women in music all the time, where their work is framed through a male figure rather than being recognized on its own.

And to be clear—I completely understand missing Isaac. It’s totally valid to acknowledge that BCNR has changed. But when every conversation about their new music immediately shifts back to him, it starts feeling unfair. He left because he was struggling with depression and didn’t want to keep putting himself out there. Constantly bringing him up, especially in a way that suggests the band isn’t good without him, feels like the opposite of what he would have wanted. At some point, it stops being about personal preference and starts taking away from the work the rest of the band has put in.

This also connects to a bigger issue in indie music. For example, Georgia's lyrics: "I’m a walking TikTok trend" in Besties, turned off many people, like it was cringey or didn’t belong. But when Isaac made pop culture references—like "Billie Eilish style" in Good Will Hunting—people praised it. Why is it cool when a male artist does it, but somehow less serious when a woman does? Indie music has always had this weird double standard where things that feel too modern or too feminine get dismissed, even if male artists are doing the exact same thing.

I see this pattern happen over and over. Women in music work just as hard, take the same creative risks, and still, their work is treated as less important. They’re constantly compared to their male counterparts, and even when they prove themselves, people act like things were always better before.

You don’t have to love BCNR’s new music, and you don’t have to pretend it’s the same as before. But it’s worth asking—why are people so quick to dismiss what they’re doing now? Why is their work always being compared to the past? And why do women in indie music, in general, face so much more criticism for just existing and creating?