Nashville, TN - These are big times for Nashville artist Blacklist Royals, who are gearing up for the release of their sophomore album Semper Liberi later this summer! Having recently signed with Paper + Plastick Records (an all vinyl/digital label owned by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello), the band is offering fans an opportunity to preview the track "American Hearts" from the new album exclusively on the Paper + Plastick player and the band's MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/blacklistroyals).

"'American Hearts' is about how the inherently horrible things that go along with being an American (the wars, racism, sexism, greed, etc.) run through all of us whether we like it or not, and how the government and media have been exploiting that aspect of American life and culture," says Rob Rufus (drummer) "Weirdly, this song was written before the election, so it kind of has a double meaning now. It could either be about the death of the 'American Dream', or about its rebirth... lets hope for the latter."

Rebirth is a common theme to The Blacklist Royals, who over the years have undergone many lineup changes and also dealt with Rufus’ battle with cancer. At a time when most teenagers would be graduating from high school, Rufus was hospital-ridden from the age of 17 to 20. A cancer survivor, he re-learned to play the drums with the help of twin brother and lead singer Nat Rufus.

"This is the first time we've been signed to a label and we're extremely excited that it's Paper + Plastick," says Rufus, "I feel like there's this attitude with lots of people where it doesn't bother them to think of music as just some file on a computer, and I hate that. Whether it's punk rock or whatever, it's still art, and it's nice to be a part of innovative independent label like P+P that's pushing that aspect of it again."

Currently on tour (see dates below) with Rob Huddleston of Paper + Plastick labelmates The Foundation (side project of Ann Berreta), fans can expect to hear a setlist made up mostly of the new material and based on fan reactions, it's good!