The daylight is beginning to disappear earlier and earlier each day after summer breathed its last, and we start to move into the colder months. It can be a trying time for some people as seasonal depression begins to creep into the room, but for others, it’s a chance to retreat inward, bask in warmth, and enjoy the theater of nature. It’s also a time for the stories to get darker and creep into our fragile psyches.
Almost as if purposely created for these days, Rebecca Vernon’s new solo project The Keening arrives with debut offering “Little Bird,” a six-track record that will feel perfect amid oranges, yellows, and browns, as well as cold rains that chill the bones. Rising from the dissolution of SubRosa, Rebecca Vernon goes in a slightly different direction, dressing the music with dark folk flourishes and American Gothic bones. These are dark tracks for trying times, enhanced by Vernon’s incredible lyrical content that takes you through stories about unsatiable wolves, witnessing a murder and being hunted by the suspect, and, of course, the fall, whose days are finally upon us. The music won’t sound or feel foreign to anyone who swore by SubRosa, but the waters are murkier, the sounds stripped back and nakedly vulnerable. Vernon worked with legendary producer Billy Anderson as well as Witch Mountain drummer Nathan Carson to bring this record to life, bringing in session musicians from the Portland, Ore., area (including Andrea Morgan of black metal/doom power Exulansis) to round out these amazing creations.
“Autumn” opens in acoustics with strings swelling, Vernon calling, “Every face that I see reminds me I’m just passing through,” as sober an admission as anything. The darkness keeps moving, even amid cooler breezes signaling the changing of seasons, the ache living in the guitars, her voice, everything, resting finally in the shadows. “Eden” soaks in organs, rainy strings, and a woodsy ambiance, the pace and volume growing, the singing coming along with it. The playing rushes with a deluge, the emotion dividing like cells, the passion coming on heavily as Vernon sings, “Eden is receding faster than the hope of new dawns rising.” Everything gently bleeds as the playing chimes, resting on the cold forest floor. The title track has keys trembling and the elements slowly building, Vernon’s voice beginning vulnerably as it gains its momentum. “The only sin that counts is when you betray yourself, when you rip off your own wing,” she offers, following that up with the warning, “Remember, a bloodthirsty wolf is never satisfied.” The song then sweeps even darker, folding in as blood rushes through the heart, the playing settling into the fog, the keys trickling off like tributaries from an ice block.
“The Hunter I” trickles in, Vernon revealing, “I saw you murdering that girl in the forest glen at night, you looked up and glimpsed my face, dappled in the cold moonlight,” increasing your breathing, making your chest heavy. The winds chill your sweaty flesh, strings activate, and the race is on, guitars drizzling, the melodies glazing and thickening. “He hunted me well, he hunted me fine, he hunted me till I lost my mind,” Vernon calls, as the playing rounds back and shocks the system, melting into “The Hunter II” that begins steely and soft. Acoustics scrape, and Vernon prods her pursuer, “I just have one question–Are you in love with me?” There’s a reason for that question, which she follows with, “Because only lovers are so intimate in their destruction, only lovers are so intimate in their complete possession.” Electrics kick in, setting up maybe the closest section here to classic SubRosa as she taunts, “I can’t wait until I die so I won’t see you again,” repeating until everything turns into oblivion. Closer “The Truth” runs 17:30 and is one of the most gripping pieces Vernon ever created. Starting cold and inky, guitars gather energy, and Vernon tells awful tales of a family threatened by mobs, a woman murdered by her heartless husband, and people seeking heights that, once they reach it, don’t give off satisfaction, her always asking if truth set them free. The playing settles into a psyche wash as Vernon reveals the identity and reality of truth, pushing doomy waters, adding depth and emotion to each twist. Perhaps the most sobering is when Vernon calls, “The truth is like a fire in the night, a beautiful treasure with a terrible price,” as the sounds begin to settle and eventually succumb, only for the strains of harps and chirps to return from the grave to give the record a proper sendoff.
Vernon’s music remains incredibly strong with the dawn of The Keening, a project that came with so much promise because of her involvement and manages to surpass every expectation that came packed with this arrival. “Little Bird” is a record that grows with each listen, continually revealing more, never shying away from discomfort and thick darkness that might prove harrowing to those who encounter this music. This is an incredible first chapter, a rich gift from a special creator whose ability to pull you into stories and reality never has been stronger and is further enhanced by this darker, softer approach.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/thekeeningmusic
To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/the-keening-little-Bird
For more on the label, go here: https://www.relapse.com/
Meat Mead Metal 