Blacklist Royals – Die Young With Me

I better start this with a confession; ever since first hearing Brothers and Sisters on the Hated Heart compilation a number of years ago and then subsequently picking up Semper Li, I have been in love with this band. They epitomised punk rock Americana, telling stories of crossing county lines, working in roadside garages, long road trips and shitloads of bourbon. If I had that album on cassette, I would have worn it out. So when news of the follow up started to trickle out in late 2013 I was understandably pretty stoked and then when it finally dropped in June via Kirian Music Group I grabbed my copy (well digitally) and set it up for what I expected was to be as close to a religious experience as I was ever liable to have.

As the opening bars of (lead single) Righteous Child start, I immediately smile to myself and think ‘here we go’. A very excellent start and spirits were still high as Missing Something, a mid-paced story of broken families kicks off and although pleasant enough it just lacked those raw edges I’d become so familiar with. Then Open Door hit and I start to worry “is this a discarded Gaslight Anthem B-Side?” Oh No. Out in the Dark and 26 and Gone go some way to redemption, but still lack that punch and bit of the cheeky humour (the intro to Drive On still makes me smile) that was apparent all through Semper Li. This is a common theme as I listen through the record, Skeleton Crew, Common Things and Die Young all have elements of what made this band interesting, just nowhere near enough of them. I am still holding out some semblance of hope that Hearts on Fire, Last Days of the Suicide Kids or Take it or Leave It can elevate this record out of the puddle of mediocrity it’s in and thankfully the last track goes some way to do that.  It’s at this point that I remember that the reason for the long gap between records; Rob Rufus’s battle with cancer, which, while always devastating for anyone close to you, in this case it was lead vocalist Nat Rufus’ twin brother and suddenly, songs initially written off as cliché ridden and a bit tedious were transformed into simple yet brutally honest stories of loss and heart break (see the aforementioned 26 and Gone, Die Young and Last Days Of The Suicide Kids).

At this point the entire album sounds different, and as it spins a few more times it begins to resonate even more and you feel like you are sharing Nat and Rob’s entire emotional journey. At this point the only thing to do is to ‘quit your job in that deadest garage’, jump in the ‘rusty ol’ ford in your front yard’ and ‘Drive On’ with Die Young With Me as your soundtrack.

As a fan, Die Young With Me wasn’t the record I thought I wanted, but considering the band’s experiences since Semper Li, it really was the only one they could make, and I’m fucking glad they did, even if it took some convincing to get me there.