Western Haunts - Gradient (2015)

On a barren stretch of Highway 99, just south of Seattle’s Aurora Bridge sits Western Haunts’ self-retrofitted recording and rehearsal space. Atop a steep flight of outdoor stairs, within a storage facility in front of a parking lot of abandoned cars is where the band has recorded and produced all of their own releases. It’s a rough, hardscrabble setting, which starkly contrasts with the bands' lush, vast, glacial sound. Paradoxically, it's a sound that might have never developed without the creative freedom that this unique environment offers, free from the time and financial constraints of traditional studios, allowing the band to fine-tune its sound in a way many new bands can't.

Gradients, Western Haunts latest self-released full-length, is truly a product of its environment. Challenging circumstances, including stumbling upon an armed burglary attempt on their studio and nightly rounds of gun fire, threatened to curtail the Spring 2015 recording and mixing sessions. To say this made for a tense creative energy in the studio is certainly an understatement. To say that Gradients doesn’t deliver on the sonic embodiment of driving tension and the rush of cathartic release would be a mistake. Gradients is a lush, vast, glacial album that walks in the footsteps of its 2014 self-titled predecessor. However, what differentiates Gradients from the rest of Western Haunts’ discography is the distinct incorporation of 80’s New Wave and Post-Punk influences, making Gradients their most upbeat and dynamic release yet.

Western Haunts has also partnered once again with local Seattle artists to create the cover and CD artwork for their latest release. Harold Hollingsworth, a talented local artist and painter who previously shot and directed the band’s music video for their song A Zealot Sun and Jason LeJeunesse, painter and Seattle nightlife owner (Neumos, Capitol Hill Block Party) have visually captured the stark, moody tone of Gradients with stunning results.