Dark, fun sound

Allison “Sunny” Faris estimates that 96 percent of the music she listens to is metal, so she’s certain her band doesn’t fit into any of metal’s many subgenres.

The lead vocalist and bassist for the Portland-based Blackwater Holylight instead describes the music as “heavy pysch,” which she recognizes as another blanket term that fails to fully convey the sprawl of sounds on the band’s self-titled debut album. But it’s a good starting point. It is heavy and psychedelic, and throughout the record apocalyptic bass riffs and guitar feedback contrast Faris’ vocal melodies that often intertwine with atmospheric synths.

It’s an album full of apparent contradictions: It’s experimental, but structured; hard-rocking, but highly musical; as sinister as a witch’s cauldron, but also kind of poppy.

“That’s one of the things I love about this record, is that it’s really unique to the listener and whatever their experience is,” Faris said. “They get to sort of choose their own adventure, you know? Some people are like, ‘It’s a doom album.’ Some people are like, ‘It’s a psych album.’ That’s one of the things that makes it really special to me—beauty is in the eye of the beholder. People who dig it pick their reasons why and we don’t come out and say, ‘We’re this.’”

The CN&R caught up with Faris ahead of the band’s upcoming show (Sunday, Aug. 5) at the Blue Room Theatre with longtime Portland garage-rock faves The Shivas.

Faris was playing in psych-pop group Grandparents before the band broke up in 2015, which opened the door for Blackwater Holylight to form about two years ago. The band hadn’t released any recorded music prior to its April debut, and the members made a point of not oversaturating the local music scene beforehand.

“We started tracking the record and playing shows right around the same time,” she said. “We tried not to overplay Portland too much, especially leading into the record. People in our community had heard these songs before the album came out, but it wasn’t overkill by any means.”

Each of the five women in the band—Faris, Laura Hopkins (guitar), Sarah McKenna (synthesizers), Cat Hoch (drums) and new member Mikayla Mayhew (guitar)—are involved with other side-projects, and all of their various musical influences bleed through on the record. Faris said the haunting vocal arrangements are a product of her long-standing relationship with Hopkins, who adds backing harmonies throughout the album and takes lead on the riff-based track “Wave of Conscience.”

“Laura and I have been playing music together for a really long time,” Faris said. “Back in the day, we were in a little folk band, her and I, and we did these four-part harmonies. We’ve always loved singing together and it comes naturally, but it’s also really fun to fuck around with her and experiment with what sounds good. …

“Melody and melodicism is what takes the journey in a song,” she continued. “It’s also cool because we back each other up. It’s like there’s no pressure.”

Unlike many vocalists in “heavy” bands, the pair rarely sing in an aggressive manner, but they do find other ways to convey the dark stuff. “I think that’s just music in general,” Faris said. “You don’t need to be in any specific genre to reflect anger, pain and darkness.”