Big Haunt’s Devotionals Ep and Video Release [video]

Devotionals is an appropriate title for the new EP from Portland-based folk-rockers,Big Haunt, which features a sound reminiscent of a gloomy, subdued mix of The Head and The Heart and Typhoon. This collection of songs centers on the beauty in darkness, as driving beats and haunting melodies beg for repeated listens as though they were the religious based rituals the title suggests. Lars Ballard, Lily Breshears and Jeff Evans work together to create hypnotizing swells of three-part harmonies and deliberate, somber baselines.

Devotionals opens with the heart-warming, slow-burning “Beds”, an inviting track that showcases the vocals of all three members in a call and response that builds to a swirling round. This continues with “Burn Me Up”s death-centered rumination that intensifies to a near frenzy through the passionate, raspy scream of “Like a lover on a cold night, death she held me in her arms oh baby!” My personal favorite off the album is closer “Bitter Water”, an anthem of the weary soul. The track climbs from a simple guitar melody and plodding bass drum to the chilling, harmonized refrain of “Put my head low in the black water,” echoing loudly into the gloom.

Beyond the EP, Big Haunt have worked with the talented film collective Lion Attack to create a stark and compelling video for “Burn Me Up” that pushes and pulls you through an equally dark narrative, bringing to life a song already filled with brooding and fiery passion. Check out the video above, and a download Big Haunt’s EP from their Bandcamp page.