Almost three years have passed since the release of Blackwater Holylight’s Silence/Motion LP, but the Los Angeles-via-Portland rockers haven’t lost a step. Their new single “Torn Reckless” – a marked evolution for the band – emanates a gorgeous wall of lush, shoegaze euphoria. While best known for their heavy-meets-melody aesthetic, it teases out the most melodic elements of their oeuvre to the point of catharsis. The track is underscored by a cinematic music video that captures the blissful essence of youth and the sentimentality of growing up. Co-directed by Candice Lawler and Blackwater Holylight’s own Sunny Faris, the visuals are equal parts soothing, sanguine, and surreal.
Shortly after the release of "Torn Reckless," we spoke with vocalist and bassist Faris about the fully realized possibilities of Blackwater Holylight’s new single, their upcoming tour with Amenra and Primitve Man, and their plans for the remaining months of 2024 and beyond.
End Overdose: Your new single “Torn Reckless” is genuinely stunning. Can you talk about what feels like leaning into a more melodic side of your sound?
Sunny Faris: Thank you! We are really excited to be leaning into the more shoegaze elements of our sound. We've always had pieces of that in our music but with “Torn Reckless” along with some other new material we really wanted to expand on it. For me personally as a songwriter I am definitely more genuine and honest when I am writing and playing more melodic songs. Our music has historically involved a lot of melody but the softer, more washed out stuff just feels so true to my heart and the ways in which I have evolved as a musician and human over the years. We will always have a heavy side, because it's the foundation of who we are, and we all love that shit, but allowing ourselves to dip into other sounds has allowed us to continue to shape ourselves and project.
EO: It’s also your first single in almost three years. How have you and Blackwater Holylight evolved as a collective since your album Silence/Motion?
SF: It has certainly been a minute! A looooooot has happened in the last few years it's hard to even sum it up. I guess moving out of Portland where the band started to California was a huge piece. We got down here in September or 2021 and have all had a lot of life changes and growth since. We have been in and out of the studio a number of times recording, writing, working with new people and making demos. We have just really been taking our time and I think that going slow and not rushing to release anything has been a huge lesson for us. We had been in "go go mode" from the beginning and slowing down, experimenting and not being precious about much has really helped us make better choices and understand our music in a way we couldn't access previously.
EO: Whether that was a time lapse or parallel couples, the music video is dreamy and surreal. How did you and Candice Lawler conceptualize it as co-directors? And what was the shooting process like?
SF: It's a time lapse! Candice and I got together a handful of months ago over lunch and I was telling her about this song, and what it means to me, and before even hearing it she was like "let's make a video." The concept came from just chatting with her about the track, and her brain instantly started spinning with ideas. We knew we wanted it to be dreamy, and floaty and feel good, and she really took the foundations of the song and ran with it. We shot it over two days with our DP Duncan Robertson in a few locations around Los Angeles, the first day was the day with the kids, and the second was "adult day" if you can call it that.
EO: With Candice doubling as your manager and creative director, did that established relationship help bring out the best in your respective creative processes for the video?
SF: Funny enough Candice wasn't even managing us when we first started talking about the video. It was through the process of creating the video and working together that we realized we needed to go further than the video as a team. Candice has always been a fan of the band and a dear friend of mine, so when we decided to have her on permanently we were both stoked. She took the wheel and immediately started planning and organizing for us, she truly just jumped in as a full ass member of this project and it's been great! I think we both bring ideas and perspectives to each other that has made working together really symbiotic all around.
EO: You’re heading out on an East Coast tour with Amenra and Primitive Man soon (and have Kat Garrigan filling in for Sarah across those dates). What’re you most anticipating for this run?
SF: Indeed! We are really excited for this one. We are of course excited to play New York DesertFest, but all the shows are going to be super fun. It definitely feels good to be going out with two really heavy ass bands and play before them every night. It kind of shows people and our fans that there is space for everyone, and that you can go on tour with bands that don't sound exactly like you and everyone has a place in it. We have some really cool merch designed by some incredible women in my life, and between the band, our sound engineer Kim, our merch seller Catrina and Candice, this will be our first fully all female touring party. So we are really excited and proud of that, especially on such a run with such heavy bands.
EO: With "Torn Reckless" released and tour dates on the horizon, what's next for you and the band in the closing months of 2024?
SF: We are going to be releasing one more single after this tour is over... It's a cover... I won't spill the beans. After that it will be time for us to all spend some time with our families and kiss 2024 goodbye! We have a lot in store for next year, including more releases, collaborations and more tours.
EO: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
SF: Just that we appreciate each and every person that has given our little band a listen, or follow, bought merch or came to a show. We really couldn't do any of this without any of y'all so thank you!! And thank you Mike.