Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa) returns with her second album under The Keening banner. Titled Devotion, the record arrives on 16 October via Relapse Records, accompanied by the haunting new video for the lead single “A Little Bit Of Blood.”

The track blends quiet, spectral folk with eruptive doom‑laden crescendos, showcasing Vernon’s ability to move from fragile intimacy to towering emotional weight. The video, directed by Ken Whiting and written by Andrew Bonazelli, was filmed over a single weekend in Detroit. Vernon describes the production — an homage to Only Lovers Left Alive — as “awe‑inspiring,” praising the Ten Seconds To Comply team for their vision and precision under tight constraints.

Devotion was recorded at Hallowed Halls in Portland with Billy Anderson and Nathan Carson, continuing the sonic partnership established on Little Bird. Vernon once again handles the bulk of instrumentation — drums, guitar, piano, organ, hammered dulcimer — and most vocals, with select guest contributions woven throughout.

The album’s writing process unfolded between two contrasting worlds: the solitude of a deserted Idaho ski‑resort cabin and the bustle of a senior living community in Spokane, where Vernon stayed with her father. This duality permeates the record, shaping its emotional tension and lyrical depth.

Vernon dedicates Devotion to her father, who passed away in May 2025. The cover art by Marald van Haasteren features a dragonfly emerging from a poppy stem — a symbol of her father and a visual metaphor for the album’s central theme: the pull between devotion as love and devotion as addiction.

With Devotion, The Keening deliver one of the year’s most evocative works — a slow‑burning fusion of ethereal post‑rock, folk, goth, and soaring doom that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant. Link