As with their previous work, Not Here Not Gone explores the duality of light and dark" menacing 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 we?re the predator, and some songs we?re 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 band?s relocation intensified their study in contrasts to intoxicating new heights on Not Here Not Gone.
The title is the perfect description of the band?s adjustment. "It?s one foot in, one foot out," vocalist and guitarist/bassist Sunny Faris explains. "It?s 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 Jacob?s Ladder of light shines through the scuzzy guitars in the form of Faris? lilting vocals and Sarah McKenna?s 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 band?s masterful duality and an appropriately titled examination of the ensemble?s methods. Mikayla Mayhew?s low, dirge-like riff and Dorsay?s 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. (Text: Presseinfo)
