Blacklist Announce Shows, Including Debut Performances On The West Coast

• 11/04 – Union Hall – Brooklyn, NY (w/The Mary Onettes)
• 11/14 – Nomad – Los Angeles, CA
• 11/15 – The Knockout – San Francisco, CA
• 11/19 – Death By Audio – Brooklyn, NY (Veil Veil Vanish)

Blacklist

To listen to Blacklist is to listen to people who have chosen to stand in opposition. Complex and modern themes are wound tightly inside impressionistic lyrics, available to be unravelled by the curious listener or ignored by those who find themselves moved primarily by the force of the music. The band’s debut LP, Midnight Of The Century, is raw ambition mixed with raw power. Mixed by Ed Buller (Suede, Slowdive, Pulp, White Lies) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Muse, Jeff Buckley, Iron Maiden, U2, Nirvana), it is a potent dose of rock and roll maximalism.

When the revolutionary Victor Serge coined the idea of a midnight in the century, he was referring to the dark pact between two of the cruelest tyrants the world had ever seen. And yet Serge is perhaps best known for his rambunctious, stubborn attitude in the face of such darkness: “the course is set on hope,” he wrote. It is precisely this marriage of extremity to romantic optimism that characterizes Midnight Of The Century — not just in the realm of ideas, but musically as well. Despite its density of sound and shadowy atmospheres, the record is the soundtrack to an uplifting journey that is as personal as it is universal. It is also a fitting manifesto announcing the arrival of Blacklist.

Hailing from Brooklyn, Blacklist is one of the flagship bands of painter Pieter Schoolwerth’s Wierd Records imprint. The band creates atmospheric modern rock music that has been described as anthemic, darkly romantic, and “a much-needed anomaly” (Other Music) in NYC’s music scene. They are sometimes classified as part of the post-punk revival, though the sound is generally more dense, sonically incorporating elements of shoegaze and heavy metal with coldwave. The members often cite influences like My Bloody Valentine, Motörhead and Black Sabbath alongside bands like The Comsat Angels, Wire, Killing Joke, and The Sound.

“In a way it’s a little bit schizophrenic, well, not schizophrenic, but dual. We enjoy listening to metal and playing metal-ish kind of stuff, but at the same time we are also listening to the post-punk bands and our performance incorporates both as well as many other elements” is how singer/guitarist Josh Strawn describes it. Drummer Glenn Maryansky continues, “I tell people live we are like the Lively Art bands were – sort of in-between Ride and The Cure’s Faith. We feel a connection to the French Wave scene. We love that over-the-top production that the metal bands have but also the sophisticated spirit of Joy Division and early Cure stuff. There’s denseness and this druggie quality to it but also this smartness and attention to detail”.

That attention to detail is part of what has brought critical acclaim to Blacklist’s live show. Metromix, who cites the bands as a MUST SEE during this week’s CMJ says: “after hearing the shimmering guitars, crisp drums and dramatic, Goth-y vocal tics of Josh Strawn on the band’s new single “Flight of the Demoiselles,” you might be tempted to break out the Cult’s old “Love” album—or anything by Bauhaus”