Bleeding Heart Narrative - Tongue Tangled Hair

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Customer reviews
Press release
Soundclips

5...according to our Brian on Thu 01 Oct, 2009.

Well the last Bleeding Heart Narrative CD was a monster hit for us, many, many months ago and now 'Tongue Tangled Hair' is a fresh offering from Oliver Barrett & friends so 'tis time to get proper excited!! Beginning tentatively with stately organ drone switching into a choral barbershop piece with charming minimal percussion, that then blossoms into an ominous Animal-Collective-gone-shoegaze epic into neo classical chamber minimalism - all beautiful sustained droning notes giving way to emotive post-rock arpeggios and heartfelt vocals that burst open into widescreen symphonic strings! Then you're treated to some curious interludes ranging from the bizarre & experimental to the heart meltingly sublime! I'll leave the rest of the album for your individual exploration - my words are only intended to give you a brief suggestion of the bountiful treats on offer here - but I gotta say this is shaping up to be something absolutely amazing by the sound of it! I hear a greater use of vocals (he has a very dreamy, soulful voice!) is evident plus a sonically rich palette of acoustics & beautiful string arrangements make this a startlingly assured record! What a talent, this man and his players truly deserve your undivided love & attention!! AOTW anyone?

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This release is available as both a beautifully presented CD in custom Tartaruga packaging and a digital download, released in both formats simultaneously. Fans of the first album (the first release on Tartaruga, back in March 2008) will have an idea of what to expect, though the album presents itself as a development of the sounds and ideas that made 'all that was missing we never had in the world' such a word-of-mouth favourite.

More song-structured than the previous release, there is a much clearer vocal presence on the record, as heard in the free track Colours Turn Colours. The approach of Bleeding Heart Narrative continues to show a fascination with sounds and textures, and a willingness to experiment with a wide array of instrumentation. Organ, 12-string guitar, electronics, cello and piano all play a part, though there is a strong coherence to the album as a whole that is unmistakenably Bleeding Heart Narrative.

This album is available in a wider release than previous Tartaruga records, and should be available in a few more stores around the country. However, sticking with tradition, 200 of the copies are extra-limited-edition, featuring sewn sleeves, hand-numbered, and with an extra two-colour foldout screenprint enclosed. These limited copies are exclusively for sale through the Tartaruga website and Norman Records.

Tracklisting

01 At The End Of It All
02 Henry Box Brown
03 The Cartographer
04 Earthing
05 Tilted The Wall
06 Colours Turn Colours
07 David Foster Wallace
08 The Vast Museum Of Insignificant Things
09 All Your Words
10 Fuchsia
11 A Dialogue
12 10 Tunbokilot

Artwork / Packaging

The CD features a fantastically detailed drawing from Bleeding Heart Narrative, folding out around the gatefold thick-card sleeve in a two colour print.

All copies come with a 12-panel foldout insert, and the 200 limited copies also include an extra two-colour numbered screenprint, and are also hand-numbered and sewn together.