Sat., March 14th: BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT, MONDO DRAG, R.I.P. at Eli's
Mile High Club. 8pm. $15 adv/door. 21+ BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT, as the
name suggests, is all about contrasts. Its a fluid convergence of
sound thats heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all
at once. As a heavy band, their songs arent anchored to riffs, but
rather riffs come and go in waves that surface throughout the bands
meditative, entrancing songs. Its 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 songs guts out to seep across the
sonic spectrum. Now, having toured together extensively following the
bands 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. Its 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 HOLYLIGHTS 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.
https://blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com/album/blackwater-holylight
[https://blackwaterholylight.bandcamp.com/album/blackwater-holylight]
MONDO DRAG WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF, let your hair down and take you
on a mind's eye exploration you won't soon forget. Though they exude
love for the spiraling tapestry of heavy psychedelia of the past, they
are on a rock and roll mission all their own: an unearthed prog band,
futuristic in their time capsule, rocketing forward through the
depths, gathering the sounds of space itself.
https://mondodrag.bandcamp.com/ [https://mondodrag.bandcamp.com/]
R.I.P. After several years of hammering the west coast with the blunt
scythe of street-doom, R.I.P. finally committed to tape an
introductory will and testament for the rest of the world to tremble
to. In the Wind closes the casket on the trends and exhumes the notion
that doom isnt about how slow and de-tuned you can play, but about
fear, death, leather and playing as heavy as possible.
https://braveinthegrave.bandcamp.com/
[https://braveinthegrave.bandcamp.com/] Cost: 15.00 Categories:
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16/03/2020 Last update