It
was their cover of “What a Wonderful World” that first brought Reuben
and the Dark to our attention. That cover (with AG) is a strong candidate in a
debate over which song is best for calibrating a subwoofer. It has recurring low-frequency
sustain that tests a subwoofer's low-end depth and control without bottoming
out.
This
year, Reuben and the Dark released their album “If You Know Me You Know
My Brother.” The Calgary-based band is fronted by Reuben Bullock.
The album title comes from something his brother once told Reuben: that
sometimes he couldn’t tell where one life ended and the other began. That
sentiment became the emotional center of the record. What started as an album
about perseverance gradually revealed itself as something deeper: a
conversation between brothers that stretches across time, memory, and absence.
Reuben’s brother recently passed.
Our
favorite single from the album is “Youth.” In an explanation of the
song, Bullock said:
“Shortly before Ben died, I started to really revisit our childhood and young adulthood. Going back through stories and memories, trying to understand why we are the way we are. Ben and I went through a lot when we were young–chaos, trauma, too many near death experiences to name. And a lot of that continued until present day. I was really encouraged by a friend to dig into it and try to write more literally to almost move it through my system in a therapeutic way. To try and transmute pain into poetry. The chorus almost feels prophetic now: ‘Our youth was not wasted on us.’ This line only truly made sense to me after he passed. I don’t know if I’ve ever written a song that holds so much meaning, it is heartbreaking and healing at the same time. I started writing this song when Ben and I were in our 20s and he was struggling with psychosis and addiction. I remember being quite nervous about sharing it with him as I knew how deeply personal and vulnerable it would be. But I think he liked being my muse.”
Reuben and the Dark is based in Calgary, Canada. In addition to Reuben Bullock,
the members of the band are Benjamin Longman (keys, guitar), Sam Harrison
(bass), and Brendan “Dino” Soares (drums).
"Youth”
by Reuben and the Dark
“Shortly before Ben died, I started to really revisit our childhood and young adulthood. Going back through stories and memories, trying to understand why we are the way we are. Ben and I went through a lot when we were young–chaos, trauma, too many near death experiences to name. And a lot of that continued until present day. I was really encouraged by a friend to dig into it and try to write more literally to almost move it through my system in a therapeutic way. To try and transmute pain into poetry. The chorus almost feels prophetic now: ‘Our youth was not wasted on us.’ This line only truly made sense to me after he passed. I don’t know if I’ve ever written a song that holds so much meaning, it is heartbreaking and healing at the same time. I started writing this song when Ben and I were in our 20s and he was struggling with psychosis and addiction. I remember being quite nervous about sharing it with him as I knew how deeply personal and vulnerable it would be. But I think he liked being my muse.”
Website: https://www.reubenandthedark.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReubenAndTheDark
Lyrics of "Youth” by Reuben and the Dark
Well I talk to you like a stranger
Whose name I can't remember
Can I offer you a cigarette to stay?
And you're looking at my watch
Wondering where the time goes
But you can tell me one day
Well, it was four in the morning, now, forever in my mind
And I remember standing at your door
There were tears on your face and the blood had barely dried
Well I said "Brother, where'd you go last night?"
And like a bullеt leaves a gun
What is done now is donе
And maybe you will remember one day
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
We were young and spoiled by innocence
They say "Youth is wasted on the young"
But youth was not wasted on us
Not us
Now it's almost time to go
But we're not going home
And this highway holds some secrets of its own
You didn't know where I was taking you
And if you cared, I couldn't tell
But maybe you will thank me one day
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
Back before it all got so fucked up
They say "Youth is wasted on the young"
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
We were young and spoiled by innocence
Well they say "Youth is wasted on the young"
But our youth was not wasted on us
Well I talk to you like a stranger
Whose name I can't remember
Can I offer you a cigarette to stay?
And you're looking at my watch
Wondering where the time goes
But you can tell me one day
Well, it was four in the morning, now, forever in my mind
And I remember standing at your door
There were tears on your face and the blood had barely dried
Well I said "Brother, where'd you go last night?"
And like a bullеt leaves a gun
What is done now is donе
And maybe you will remember one day
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
We were young and spoiled by innocence
They say "Youth is wasted on the young"
But youth was not wasted on us
Not us
Now it's almost time to go
But we're not going home
And this highway holds some secrets of its own
You didn't know where I was taking you
And if you cared, I couldn't tell
But maybe you will thank me one day
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
Back before it all got so fucked up
They say "Youth is wasted on the young"
Let's go back to the places where we used to run
Before we knew what we were running from
We were young and spoiled by innocence
Well they say "Youth is wasted on the young"
But our youth was not wasted on us
