Blacklist - Midnight of the Century

Today marks the release of Blacklist's Midnight of the Century on New York City’s Wierd Records. It is an album equal parts pornography, poetry, post-punk and politics. From my introduction to the band in 2006 when singer Josh Strawn prefaced a song with commentary on the mainstream American media’s biased representation of Palestine, I knew that Blacklist’s medium was a message not only of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, but of geo-politics, socio-cultural dynamics, and revolt. Clever and earnest dissections of issues taking center stage around the world are situated side by side with affairs of the heart.

Deeply penetrating and perhaps, most importantly, perpetually groove-y, it’s difficult not to invoke The Sisters of Mercy when discussing such an intersection of politics, romance, and post-punk. Like Andrew Eldritch says of his band, Blacklist’s music is “allusive rather than illusive,” with so much to unpack in the lyrical content -- one could indeed speculate for hours...

Continue reading my in-depth look at the album on The Big Takeover, and for a different take on the subject, check out my cohort's review on Post-Punk.