Long Island Night Light Radio

By: Lou Megna / LINL Radio

Release Date & Availability: April 19th, 2026 by SODEH Records worldwide on all streaming platforms- see links below.

About seven months ago I had the privilege and pleasure of chatting virtually with Kurt (Guitar/ Vocals) and Cody (Vocals), who, along with Nick (Bass) and Clayton (Drums) form alt-rock band Brother Venus out of Belgrade, Montana.  LINL Radio is fortunate enough to be on the distribution list of the band’s label, SODEH Records, so I was pleased to chat with the guys prior to the time of their previous release,  “Stories.”  This Spring, Brother Venus is back with a new track called “Just a Friend,” scheduled for worldwide release on April 19th.   Fortunately, a man in my position gets his hands on hot new releases prior to many others, so I’ve been listening to the tune since late March, and I’m pleased to take some time here to share my thoughts on the new release, and to comment on the band’s progress:

“Just a Friend,” the latest from Brother Venus, begins with a bright and firm guitar line over some very interesting rhythms.  An overlay of even brighter guitars enters, open and inviting to match the truthful, introspective and revealing nature of the lyrics, and the rich clarity of the vocals.  The song builds up from this verse with perfect gradation, leading the listener right up to the edge of the crunchy chorus.

Whether with awareness or not, whether with effort or effortlessly, Brother Venus has created a diverse and genre-crossing mix of intricate rhythms, distorted guitars and powerful vocals throughout this “Just a Friend” chorus.  The vocals in this part, warmly layered with harmonies, reflect perfectly the heartfelt and direct nature of the lyrics. Those vocal harmonies, by the way, are refined in such a way as to again reflect an effortless nature (although an incredible amount of work certainly went into it!). 

The bridge of “Just a Friend” has an intricate precision about it, the percussion and vocal harmonies once again so well-developed, and once again crossing genres rhythmically, naturally and effortlessly.  The song’s arrangement is traditional but fresh, bright, and continuously moving forward- a musical effort as open and truthful musically as the lyrical narrative itself.   Clocking in at just over 4 minutes, the song takes one through a pleasant journey through the emotional vibes of the recent past, deftly, with a skill and ease that makes you want to listen again. 

“Just a Friend” has such a curious and interesting, percussive ending, leaving me to wonder: does it point the way toward their next musical effort?  It’s a really cool rhythm, so let’s hope it does!

Favorite lyric:

“Making me the better me that I just can’t quite

Seem to be without ya, and I miss that too

I can’t forget the best I never had was you.”

-Lou Megna, 03/31/26, LINL Music Reviews

Album Review- ‘Slay the Dragon’ by Blacklist Union

By: Lou Megna / LINL Radio

Release Date & Availibilty: Released on 9/12/25 on all streaming platforms- see links below.

Recently, LINL Radio had both the privilege and the pleasure of sitting down for a chat with Tony West, frontman for Los Angeles’ Blacklist Union.  We discussed a lot, and much of the conversation was of course centered around the band’s latest full-length LP, ‘Slay the Dragon,’ which was released internationally on September 12th of 2025.  After playing the three lead singles prior to this release, I became a genuine fan of the band, so the review that follows may not be very impartial; however, here is what you can expect from an album that is, in my very humble opinion, the best thing going in rock music today:

‘Slay the Dragon’ begins with the anthemic “Mississippi Moonhound” where, after a few acoustically strummed guitar arpeggios, the listener is greeted (or is warned?) with the double-meaning lyric, “welcome to the wild, wild West” from the frontman, lyricist and vocalist, Tony West.  The song is riff heavy and hook-laden, as West evokes a sensory awareness of the sights, smells and textures of the aural landscape of the album to come- leaving the listener with a sense of entering a temple, rather than simply spinning Track One. The track is 'Street Rock' at its finest, mistily atmospheric and haunting in both imagery and melody.

Track 2, “Up In Smoke”, showcases a shift in atmosphere expertly laid over a rhythm section groove that is maintained throughout the track.  West’s lyrics and method of vocally seducing the listener into his world continue to elevate the album as a whole into a realm that sits above our mundane reality; “electrifying, death defying” as Tony would put it in this song. “Up In Smoke” serves as a portal into that realm, an invitation to the discovery of the angels, demons, magic and tragedy that await in the remaining songs.

If anyone ever wonders why Tony West is considered a ‘Shamanistic’ frontman, “Can You Heal Me?”, Track 3, is a track that definitively answers that questioning mind.  Once again, we’re invited into something sacred, something powerful, a journey where “You can feel the real/ so here’s the deal/ it’s time to get in the boat and row.”  In a song full of defining moments, the truest one is during the bridge, where West evokes parallels to Jim Morrison or Perry Farrell, but all the while maintaining a state of being wholly and uniquely Tony West.

“Dyin’ 4 U”, the album’s fourth track, takes a shattered romance and embodies it in a hopeful, melodic-yet-rocking tune, an expertly melded blend of Street Rock and catchy chorus, hitting universal tones both lyrically and instrumentally that resound for miles with the listener.  The band have also released an accompanying video for this track, which is definitely recommended viewing for a track with lyrics already so rich with imagery.

“Do it For the Song”, track five, details the lengths Tony goes to in order to garner his lyrical material, laid all over a pounding and haunting rhythm punctuated by wah-pedaled, atmospheric guitars.   “Free At Last” is Tony’s dynamic proclamation that “The only way to Heaven is through Hell,” with some heavenly clean-channeled verses and a hellishly heavy chorus.  “All Hail the King”, Track 7, rounds out this middle group of tracks, a regal journey into rock riffs where the band once again showcases a dynamic range between the verses and the heavy pre-chorus and chorus parts.  

Track 8, “Horns and Halos” is, in many ways, a perfect embodiment of that higher realm where West’s songs live, a place where the emotions reign supreme over our petty day-to-day worries and cares.  “Hey Mr. Superstar” is the album’s sole full-on ballad, the band showing their acumen at playing softly, deftly, subtly, and in so doing gaining full control of “the flow of emotion” expertly.  “Rock N Roll Soldier” is an exhortation punctuated by palm-muted guitars, floor toms, strings, and the continued mystical atmosphere found seemingly nowhere else but on this very album.

“X Marks the Spot” and “Slay the Dragon” are the album’s final two offerings, the former a melodic and earnest declaration of departure, and the album’s titular track, which brings us full circle to the beginning.  Yes, acoustic guitars- but this time they aren’t the misty and mysterious ones that opened the album- they are bright, matching West’s melodies and harmonies, a victorious tone in each that makes one believe it is indeed possible to slay the dragon within us all.

Over the last several months, LINL Radio has been thrilled to air music from Blacklist Union.  Fans of rock music- Street Rock, as Tony himself would call it- NEED to have ‘Slay the Dragon’ in their collection.  LINL Radio will continue to spin tunes from it during Daily Playlists as well as on Hammer and Anvil Playlists.

Please see these links below!!

-Lou Megna 09/29/25

LINL Radio Blog & Reviews