Blackwater Holylight Post New Single “Death Realms”
I have all kinds of crap that I should be listening to on any given day, but I just keep going back to this Blackwater Holylight record and its genre/anti-genre approach, the radness of which would be hard for me to overstate. Veils of Winter is out a month from tomorrow through RidingEasy, and the five-piece have just unveiled the second advance cut from the album in the form of “Death Realms,” so yes, I’m posting about it again, if only to have a legit excuse to put the album on again and listen to it front to back. I’ve already got their upcoming Brooklyn show with Monolord in the calendar, and it’s been a while since I looked forward so much to seeing a band for the first time.
As of right now, I have an album review slated for about two weeks from today, so I’ll reserve any further gushing for that, I guess, and just turn things over to the PR wire, which brings much background and of course the stream of the track itself, which is down there at the bottom. You gotta hear it.
Here goes:
Portland, OR quintet Blackwater Holylight share the second single from their forthcoming sophomore album Veils of Winter (RidingEasy Records) today. Hear and share the pop-hook laced “Death Realms” via YouTube and Bandcamp.
The band previously dropped the immediately classic lead track “Motorcycle” via YouTube and all streaming platforms last month.
Blackwater Holylight hit the road later this month, supporting Thou for a handful of Southern dates, followed by the full US with former RidingEasy label mates Monolord in November. Please see complete dates below.
Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts. It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once.
As a heavy band, their songs aren’t anchored to riffs, but rather riffs come and go in waves that surface throughout the band’s meditative, entrancing songs. It’s a hypnotic sound, with orchestral structures that often build tension and intrigue before turning the song on its head — not by simply getting louder or heavier, nor by just layering elements. They expertly subvert the implied heaviness of a part, dissecting it and splaying the song’s guts out to seep across the sonic spectrum.
Now, having toured extensively following the band’s wildly-successful breakout self-titled debut in 2018, Blackwater Holylight has honed their sound and identity to a powerfully captivating beast. Their live set is all about the slow build, seeming to combine the melodic tension of early Sonic Youth crossed with the laconic fever-dream blues of the first Black Sabbath album and wiry experimentation of post-punk and krautrock.
The lineup on this album is Allison (Sunny) Faris (bass/vocals), Laura Hopkins (guitar/vocals) and Sarah McKenna (synths), with new guitarist Mikayla Mayhew and drummer Eliese Dorsay fleshing out their sound in exciting ways.
“The process of this album was vastly different from our first record,” says Faris. “One, because we recorded it over the course of a few weeks, whereas the first record was over the course of about a year. And two, this album was a true collaboration between the five of us. Each of us had extremely equal parts in writing and producing, we all bounced ideas off each together, and we all had a say in what was going on during every part of the process.”
“One of our favorite things about this album is that because it was so collaborative, we didn’t compartmentalize ourselves into one vibe.” She continues. “It’s heavy, psychedelic, pop, shoegaze, doom, grunge, melodic and more. The whole process was extremely organic and natural for us, we were just being ourselves.”
Veils of Winter opens with fuzzed-drenched, drop-tuned bass and baritone guitar leading a dirge riff on “Seeping Secrets.” Faris’ lilting and funereal vocals drop in, adding to the mournful atmosphere until a short turnaround progression hints at changes to come, as Faris and Hopkins harmonize eerily and the tune suddenly turns into a krautrock charge. “Motorcycle” kicks off deceptively with a heavy grunge riff building up for about 40-seconds before the song abruptly shifts gears into a synth-led post-punk harmony, sounding something like Lush meets Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. “Death Realms” is perhaps the poppiest track, based around soaring shoegaze guitars and interwoven light vocal harmonies. Soft piano notes, occasional woozy whammy bar dives and a driving tom-tom beat solidify its hooks. “Spiders” is a creepy-crawly guitar riff and counterpoint keys, while “Moonlit” explores prog-structures with a shredding guitar solo crescendo. The penultimate track, “Lullaby” is exactly that, a lulling, expansive tune exemplifying Blackwater Holylight’s genre smashing sound as it subtly moves across a vast sonic landscape atop a hypnotic 6/8 beat and repetitive 3-note motif. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace.
Veils of Winter will be available on LP, CD and download on October 11th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at www.ridingeasyrecs.com.
BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT LIVE 2019:
09/22 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jack’s #
09/23 Tallahassee, FL @ The Bark #
09/24 Tampa, FL @ The Blue Note #
09/26 Miami, FL @ Las Rosa’s #
09/27 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub #
09/28 Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic #
09/29 Pensacola, FL @ Chizuco #
10/10-13 Lake Perris, CA @ Desert Daze Festival
10/24 Portland, OR @ Star Theater – Album release show
11/05 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick *
11/06 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
11/07 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister *
11/09 Austin, TX @ Barracuda – Levitation Fest – RidingEasy Stage
11/10 Lafayette, LA @ Freetown Boom Boom Room *
11/11 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks *
11/12 Atlanta, GA @ 529 *
11/13 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *
11/14 Richmond, VA @ Camel *
11/15 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery *
11/16 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
11/17 New York, NY @ Saint Vitus *
11/20 Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s *
11/21 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing *
11/22 St. Louis, MO @ Fubar *
11/23 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck *
11/25 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater *
11/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom *
12/05 Seattle, WA @ Neumos ^
12/06 Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall ^
12/07 Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom ^
# w/ Thou
* w/ Monolord
^ w/ Yob
https://www.facebook.com/blackwaterholylight/
instagram.com/blackwaterholylight
blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com
ridingeasyrecs.com
