Live music review: Blackwater Holylight drew diehards in droves to Radio East Tuesday
The industrial area of southeast Austin carries a unique vibe. With no gentrification within yelling distance (or amplified music distance) in our case, there’s not much worry about noise complaints and the fuzz coming with the decibel reader to dock the venue for “Rock and roll mischief.” For Los Angeles-based via Portland shoegaze outfit Blackwater Holylight, an early-week bill on Tuesday evening at Radio East drew Austin diehards in droves to experience the Austin Psych Fest alums alongside local favorites, Glassing and The Well. With new LP Not Here Not Gone showcasing their multi-layered brand of luscious psych-infused soundscapes, the Blackwater quintet accounts for all the sounds that make up their dreamy biome.
Doom metal trio The Well were the first to take the stage, a show-stopping local fixture that’s shared the stage with legends, The Sword, High on Fire, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, and many more in the underground world of heavy music. The group had just returned home from an early-year tour, a normal cycle for their road-warrior, well-oiled machine ways. Singer and bassist Lisa Alley is known for her contributions to contemporaries Mugger & TV’s Daniel, as well as an extensive career in visual art. The devil’s note riffs and Ozzy-laced vocals with harmonies between Alley and guitarist Ian Graham hit with maximum psychoactive potency, making The Well a worthy addition to any hard-rocking bill. The group promised their fourth LP set to be released this Fall, their first full-length since 2019.
Local blackgaze three-piece (and Blackwater tour mates), Glassing took the reins next for an unbridled onslaught that rattled the eardrums. With a reputation that includes pervasive walls of noise and an unhinged, screamed vocal delivery, the Glassing players have been anything but quiet in the Central Texas heavy music underground. Their songs are brief, abrasive, and seek to punish the uninitiated. With four studio albums and a touring resume that’s become impressive since their 2017 debut, nothing can stop them from being a reckoning force. This set was less talk, more rock. With no time wasted on stage banter, the bludgeoning guitars and storm-bringing drumbeats make up minimalist brutalism that knows no bounds. Their audiences embrace the noise and latch onto the chaos at hand every time.
Blackwater Holylight is no stranger to Austin. With their most recent appearance being an Austin Psych Fest slot at Far Out Lounge & Stage last Spring, the L.A. by way of Portland band returned to town firing on all cylinders with a new album to boot, Not Here Gone. The record dropped on the Suicide Squeeze label last month. With the setlist dominated by this new release, the instrumentals showed utmost confidence and punched through with palpable catharsis.
A spectacle to behold that led the indie rock loyalists in the audience to rejoice in the guitar pedal theater and retro-loaded synths that populated the Radio East space. It’s a daunting task to tour around as an independent music vehicle these days, and you can only hope the merch sells and the fans come out to listen.
Blackwater Holylight and Glassing continue down the road in the U.S. through the March 8. The band tours Europe beginning in April. Tickets can be found via the Blackwater Holylight website.
All photos by Troy Gonzales
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