Moving our attention to the PNW scene, we present news of the new Risley album Meantime Fades arriving July 2 with the debut of the double single "Hunted" / "Haunted". Following up their breakout 2016 self-titled, Portland pop staple Michael Deresh alongside Jaime Hazerian, Tim Skerpon and Cris Whitcomb cast the listener out into the strange of the great wide open of a world where anything can happen and the possibilities are infinite. From Deresh's local work as the founder of SE Portland's Lamplight Recording Studio, PDXPOPNOW!, the band Tea for Julie and having recorded countless other artists and bands; Risley rises up to the occasion as a whole new world unfurls itself like the bloom of a sacred lotus greeting the emanating beams of a new day/era's promise of limitless abundance. The double track chronicles the galloping movements of unbridled pursuits as the latter basks in the indelible psychic effects of the apparitions that permeate and speak to the clandestine corners and character of our collective spirit and consciousness.

“Hunted” is built from the energy of live music’s pre-pandemic past with a hope filled heart for all tomorrow’s festivals and soirées. Risley zeros in on the rehabilitations of the self and soul in the wake of a breakup, returning to the square one with new learned perspectives of the interior and exterior. With a rhythm section that ignites the acceleration of cascading power chords, Risley illustrates the states of renewal and rebirth one feels when they are ready to accept and be accepted by others. “Hunted” is the feeling of realizing that a new beginning has dawned, a reconnection with the surrounding environmental terrain and the big vulnerable steps toward being ready to love and be loved again after a period of personal rebuilding. The flipside “Haunted” exemplifies the sublime of affection and human connections in understated tones that gently move like benevolent star crossed specters floating in the dark.

Built with the underscored hook progression found throughout “Hunted”, the b-side is a decidedly subdued experience where Deresh’s delivery reverberates in lovingly whispers like a late night crooner broadcasting endearing expressions of affection from the transmissions of a sleepy independent radio’s humble antennae tower rig. If “Hunted” accentuated the very affect of true and new love’s onset of radical and realized discovery — then “Haunted” revels discretely in the long terms effects of what is ultimately our sorry world’s last saving grace of rescue from the malevolent clutches of the previously unthinkable and unimaginable as we return back from the brink of a universe and bonds that have been all but destroyed. Risley illustrates the second chances for a greater love. A greater and higher ground of engagement. A greater connection. A greater truth. A greater degree of honesty. A greater mutual understanding. A greater dialogue. A greater peace that we have never before known (until this very moment in time).

Michael Deresh of Risley provided us with a few reflections on the developments and inspirations that informed “Hunted” / “Haunted”:

The first single/b-side from the record are two flipsides of the same coin. “Hunted” and “Haunted” are alter ego takes on the same song, the latter closing things out on the bonus tracks and the former, the third track on the album. It’s a song about opening yourself up to the world and possibility in general.

There’s that point after the end of a relationship, a rough patch or a stretch of time spent closed up, that you really become ready to invite the world in again. It’s the moment that you allow the potential of the unknown back in.

At 180 bpm, “Hunted” sets an undeniable and feverish pace, while “Haunted” exists in an open and gushing landscape, set to the heartbeat of the kick drum. They’re the only songs that share common DNA but together showcase very different sides to the band’s dynamic.

Risley’s Meantime Fades will be available July 2.