BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT – Not Here Not Gone – LP – Transparent Red Colour Vinyl [JAN 30]

LP – Limited Edition Transparent Red Colour Vinyl. Only 700 copies in this edition worldwide. Includes DL code.

When Blackwater Holylight left their hometown of Portland OR three years ago, their mission was to escape the gloom of the Pacific Northwest and the placating comfort of familiarity. Aiming for the sunnier climes of LA, the band found themselves not only in a warmer environment, but in a blank slate landscapeone without jobs, longtime friend groups, and the easy retreat of old habits. And it was here, unencumbered by the contentment of security, that Blackwater Holylight began diligently working on their fourth full-length album, Not Here Not Gone.

As with their previous work, Not Here Not Gone explores the duality of light and darkmenacing riffs provide the bedrock to beguiling melodies; dense walls of shoegaze guitars pair with lighter-than-air synths; and heavy subject matter is delivered by siren song vocals. Across their work, the listener gets a sense of empowerment at one turn, vulnerability the next. As drummer Eliese Dorsay describes it, some songs were the predator, and some songs were the prey. The juxtaposition of confidence and uncertainty is never in as such stark relief as when one makes a life changing decision, which may explain how the bands relocation intensified their study in contrasts to intoxicating new heights on Not Here Not Gone.

The title is the perfect description of the bands adjustment. Its one foot in, one foot out, vocalist and guitarist/bassist Sunny Faris explains. Its about how you can lose people in your life but still have their presence and energy around you. And indeed, listening to Not Here Not Gone, you get the distinct sense that Blackwater Holylight dragged some of the Northwest gloom down into Southern California. The opening chords of How Will You Feel are drenched in the muddy weight of perpetually overcast skies. But a Jacobs Ladder of light shines through the scuzzy guitars in the form of Faris lilting vocals and Sarah McKennas blissed-out ambient synth work, guiding the listener out of the mire and into the garden.

Even in their heaviest moments, like the sludgy psychedelia of Bodies and Spades, Blackwater Holylight masterfully sculpt the thunder and grime into something that feels transcendental. Lead single Heavy, Why? is perhaps the apex of the bands masterful duality and an appropriately titled examination of the ensembles methods. Mikayla Mayhews low, dirge-like riff and Dorsays propulsive drums could easily find a home in the catalog of an amp-worshipping Roadburn act, but Faris fragile vocals transform the composition into a question, a pointed and probing examination that uses beauty and grace to offset the threatening instrumentation.

In one of the biggest stylistic shifts of the album, the instrumental track Giraffe churns out a hallucinatory blend of woozy keyboards and pulsating bass over a beat provided by David Andrew Sitek (TV on the Radio, Run the Jewels, Solange). The song serves as a dividing line of sorts, as Not Here Not Gone shifts gears into even more nuanced territories. The band asserts that the primary change to their music has been the addition of time. On previous albums, youthful urgency yielded material that felt immediate and direct. But on Not Here Not Gone, Blackwater Holylight deliberately slowed their creative pace. If there were to be a theme to the album, it would be patience, says Faris. Some of these songs weve been working on for three years, just giving the songs time to breath and develop while we were exploring a new place and new lives. Its especially evident on the latter half of the album, where tracks like Void to Be, Fade, and Mourning After deliberately eschew the big riff in favour of fever dream melodies and layered instrumentation. But forever savouring the paradox, the albums final track was composed just days before the band entered the studio. Poppyfields is a harrowing account of a friend losing their home in an LA wildfire, set against a backdrop of blast beats, double kick drum, symphonic synths, and black metal-inspired guitars. In what feels like a counterweight to the albums general tilt towards less tormented territories, Poppyfields serves as a stark reminder that no paradise is permanent, and everything will be reborn through ashes.

Not Here Not Gone was recorded at Sonic Ranch outside of El Paso TX by Sonny Diperri (Narrow Head, DIIV, Emma Ruth Rundle), allowing the band to once again step outside of their comfort zone and isolate themselves in a place where they could focus exclusively on their art. The result is the crown jewel of Blackwater Holylights cataloga rich and immersive study in tonal chiaroscuro, where light finds its way out of the shadows.

Tracklist:

1. How Will You Feel
2. Involuntary Haze
3. Bodies
4. Heavy, Why?
5. Giraffe
6. Spades
7. Void To Be
8. Fade
9. Mourning After
10. Poppyfields

Written & Produced by Blackwater Holylight
Producer, Mixer, Engineer – Sonny Diperri
Mixing Assistant – Zach Capittifenton
Engineering Assistant – Felipe Aldana
Mastering – Howie Weinberg

Sunny Faris Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Mikayla Mayhew Bass, Guitar
Eliese Dorsay Drums
Sarah McKenna Synths
Camille Getz – Violin
David Sitek Beats on Giraffe (Track #5)

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