Pre-Order: The Keening - Devotion [CD]

Richly progressive folk-informed heavy post-rock and a sick burn to boot. - The Obelisk 

Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa), the driving creative force behind THE KEENING returns with her second album, Devotion. The highly anticipated new album sees Vernon and company releasing one of the year's most evocative works: a truly compelling mix of slow-burning, ethereal post-rock, folk, goth, and soaring doom.

 For Vernon, the writing process for Devotion took place in two starkly different environments. It ranged from the contemplative solitude of a friend’s cabin in a deserted Idaho ski resort to the hectic reality of a 55+ senior living community in Spokane, Washington, where she was staying with her father. The end result is an explosive album underscored by a subtle duality that resonates throughout its most poignant moments, both lyrically and musically.

"The album is dedicated to my dad, who passed away a little over a year ago (May 11, 2025,)" says Vernon. "He was one of my greatest champions and supporters of my music. My sister and I see dragonflies as a symbol of him, so I asked our cover artist Marald van Haasteren if he could put a dragonfly in the art. The dragonfly is coming out of the stem of a poppy, so again, to me, it depicts that dichotomy or tension between the dark meaning of devotion (addiction) and its lighter meaning (love)."

Take the single "A Little Bit of Blood," for example. Quiet, acoustic guitar strums give way for Vernon's haunting vocals, before the backing instrumentation explodes into a soaring chorus reminding the listener that sometimes the best paths taken are the most difficult. 

In a 2024 interview with Decibel Magazine, Vernon discussed the drastic shift in heavy music's themes in recent years, highlighting a willingness to convey raw emotion: "Metal is beginning to share more vulnerable things, more confessional things. Metal has almost become a safe place to talk about those things. People are being open with their struggles. Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have." Devotion lays these emotional confessions bare and showcases a truly bright burn. 

Devotion was recorded in April 2022, again at Hallowed Halls in Portland, with Billy Anderson  and Nathan Carson featured in their same roles as heard on Little Bird. Once again, Vernon showcases her writing prowess, having a heavy hand on all the instrumentation for Devotion; Vernon played drums, guitar, piano, organ, and hammered dulcimer, and provided most of the vocals on both albums, with a few guest vocalists added to the mix.