Tag: Blackwater Holylight Wave of Conscience

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Blackwater Holylight Releases Dark and Creepy Visuals for Anthemic “Wave of Conscience”

Over the past few months, I’ve written a bit about Portland, OR-based rock act Blackwater Holylight, and as you may recall, the band which is comprised of founding member Allison “Sunny” Faris (vocals, bass) with Laura Hopkins (guitar, vocals), Cat Hoch (drums) and Sarah McKenna (synth) can actually trace it origins to when a previous band that Faris was in broke up, and she felt the n could to begin experimenting with what her own version of “heavy” should and could be both sonically and emotionally — all while celebrating vulnerability in all of its forms. Faris adds that because she had long been the only female in many of her bands, she wanted to see how songwriting and vulnerability could glow once they take the drivers seat within a band, and how it is was to work exclusively with women.

The band’s self-titled full-length debut was released earlier this year, and the album’s second single is the Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath power chord-based dirge and strident, feminist anthem “Wave of Conscience,” that finds the band at their most expansive and forcefully self-assured — but while centered around ethereal harmonizing. Interestingly, the recently released video for “Wave of Conscience” is based around found and stock footage of black widow spiders, cartoons, animated movies, and other creepy crawlies attacking and fighting each other. Yes, it’s dark as fuck — and fittingly so.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Portland’s Blackwater Holylight Returns with a Trippy and Expansive Take on 60s Psych Rock

Over the past couple of months, I’ve written a bit about the Portland, OR-based rock act Blackwater Holylight, and as you may recall, the band comprised of founding member Allison “Sunny” Faris (vocals, bass),  Laura Hopkins (guitar, vocals), Cat Hoch (drums) and Sarah McKenna (synth), the band, which can trace its origins to when one of Faris’ previous bands broke up, and she wanted to begin experiment what her own version of what “heavy” should and could be both sonically and emotionally with the primary aim to celebrate vulnerability all of its forms. But along with that, as Faris explains in in press notes, because she was the only female in her previous band, she wanted to see how her “songwriting and vulnerability could glow taking the drivers seat, and working with women.” 

RidingEasy Records will be releasing Blackwater Holylight’s self-titled review on April 6, 2018 and from the Breeders-like alt rock meets shoegaze “Sunrise,” and the Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath heavy, power chord dirge and strident, feminist anthem “Wave of Conscience,” the Portland-based quartet have shown that their material draws from a wide array of sources with a piss and vinegar-fueled, kick ass and take names sort of self-assuredness. And unsurprisingly, the album’s latest single “Willow” continues in a similar vein while being their most expansive and most 60s psych rock-inspired song they’ve released from the album to date, as the band shifts tempo and mood while centered around some explosive guitar pyrotechnics and ethereal harmonies. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Blackwater Holylight Return with a Heavy Psych Rock Dirge

Comprised of founding member, Allison “Sunny” Faris (vocals, bass), Laura Hopkins (guitar, vocals), Cat Hoch (drums) and Sarah McKenna (synth), the Portland, OR-based rock act Blackwater Holylight began as an experiment of what Faris’ own version of what “heavy” should be both sonically and emotionally. “I also wanted a band in which vulnerability of any form could be celebrated.” But interestingly, as Faris explains in press notes, her current band can trace its origins to when Faris’ longtime band split up. “In my last band, I was the only female in a group of 6, so I wanted to see how my songwriting and vulnerability could glow taking the drivers seat and working with women.”

Last month, I wrote about “Sunrise,” off the band’s self-titled debut, a single that struck me as meshing elements of Breeders-like alt rock, garage rock and swirling, towering shoegaze — but with soaring hooks, bringing to mind classic, 120 Minutes-era MTV alt rock, while eschewing familiar song structures. The album’s latest single “Wave of Conscience” is an enormous power chord-based heavy psych dirge that sounds indebted to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath — and sonically speaking, could have easily been mistaken for a track off the incredible Brown Acid compilation series but while being a strident feminist anthem.