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Friday Rock Recs: Blacklist Union – Evil Eye

by Brian Shea on Aug 05, 2016 at 10:00 AM

In this weekly feature, I always try to highlight lesser known bands that I feel should be more widely listened to. Perhaps no band more epitomizes that description than the group I'm highlighting this week: Blacklist Union.

Blacklist Union is the product of the Los Angeles rock sound. Charismatic frontman Tony West has been the mind and driving force behind the band since its inception, and the evolution he has pushed the band through over the course of the group's four albums has been remarkable. While the band's early albums were more derivative of the classic metal mainstays, with obvious influences from modern rock groups, they were still enjoyable to traverse the dark path that West and his band were willing to lead us down. The highlights of those first two albums, like the title tracks "After the Mourning" and "Breaking Bread with the Devil," stood head-and-shoulders above the rest of the albums. Even the group's third album, Til Death Do Us Part, which carried a lighter tone in the music while maintaining the grim feel in the lyrics (as perfectly showcased in the single "Alabama Slammer"), didn't feel like the band had fully come into its own. With its fourth album, however, that all changed.

Back to Momo, which hit last year, showcases a band at the top of its game and showing off what it can do. The Los Angeles sound the band was birthed from has never been more evident, as Back to Momo feels ripped straight from the glory days of the Sunset Strip. Even with that description, the album never sounds like it's aping any one band too much. Whether you're talking the guitar-laden rocker "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" or the rowdy "Meet Me on Zen Street," this is a strong LP from start to finish, leading me to name it my favorite album of 2015. Tunes like "Superjaded" and "Shake It Off" are songs I've listened to on repeat and have still yet to tire of. One of the darker (and stronger) tracks off of Back to Momo is "Evil Eye," which gives a bleak look at psychological abuse a child suffers at the hands of a parent. Despite the heavy subject matter (which is also depicted in the music video), the track soars to be one of the highlights of the album. You can give that track a listen below.