Blackwater Holylight‘s fourth album, Not Here Not Gone, released on January 30, 2026 on Suicide Squeeze Records, marks a bold evolution for the now-LA-based trio. Originally hailing from Portland, the band—Sunny Faris on vocals and guitar, Mikayla Mayhew on guitar, Sarah McKenna on synths and bass, and Eliese Dorsay on drums—has shed a member since 2021’s Silence/Motion but gained sonic heft. Produced by Sonny Diperri at Sonic Ranch, this record dives deeper into doomgaze territory, blending punishing riffs with ethereal atmospheres that evoke the duality of light and dark, love and loss.

From the opener “How Will You Feel,” listeners are enveloped in a sleetstorm of fuzzed-out guitars reminiscent of early My Bloody Valentine, with Faris‘ serene, serotonin-laced vocals floating above the chaos like a spectral guide. The track narrates the poignant moments before a relationship’s end, questioning “how will you live without me?” with tender regret that neutralizes potential violence. This sets the tone for an album that explores emotional discomfort—addiction, abandonment, and relational ruins—without easy resolutions.

Standouts like “Bodies” lurch with L7-style sludge before softening into hazy angst, while “Spades” delivers concussive, mosh-inducing riffs backed by airy synths, its down-tuned dramatics nodding to Black Sabbath‘s “Sweet Leaf.” “Fade” branches into post-rock phosphorescence, building from haunted whispers to expansive crescendos. The experimental interlude “Giraffe,” featuring a distorted techno beat from TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, injects industrial noise, pitting rugged distortion against delicate wobbles in a mid-album surprise.

The seven-minute closer “Poppyfields” weaves black metal vigor with doom’s brooding tension, Dorsay‘s double-kick drums and tremolo-strummed guitars floating like an incantation over images of burned-down homes. Tracks such as “Void to Be” and “Heavy, Why?” amplify themes of dissociation and vulnerability, their thin, brittle tones creating a papery texture that aches without overwhelming. Not Here Not Gone is Blackwater Holylight‘s most assured and integrated effort yet, a mesmerizing speedball of doom, shoegaze, and stoner rock. It thrives in liminal spaces, where heaviness serves intimate revelations rather than mere aggression. Clocking in at just over 45 minutes, it’s concise yet propulsive, leaving you empowered yet uncertain—predator and prey in one breath. In a genre crowded with copycats, this record stands out for its refusal to stagnate, pushing boundaries while staying true to the band’s Pacific Northwest gloom infused with SoCal sunshine. For fans of Emma Ruth Rundle or Chelsea Wolfe; it’s heavy in the best way, like a difficult conversation that lingers long after.