Description:	LP edn of 300 on Bracken records. Delightful
	Format:	LP (vinyl)
	Genre(s):	Folk/Folk Rock
	Label:	Bracken
	Price:	£13.99
	Availability:	Sold out / currently unavailable. Sorry!

5
...according to our Ant on 07 July 2009.

You know for some reason this record has been in my thoughts and kind of haunting me since I first heard it. Listening back to the clips makes me realize why... (and why I need to get a copy) ...We're in the midst of something exceptional here, something very special. This girls voice is so fragile and delicate it could reduce a grown man to tears...Every so often you hear a voice which touches you profoundly and for me that has not  happened for many years.. until now. To my ears  this is indeed one of the most magical and wonderfully enchanting modern folk records I've heard in ages. A work of deeply personal and intimate beauty that goes beyond words. Buy on sight and I don't say that lightly.

5
...according to our Phil on 25 June 2009.

It's rare a singer songwriter album will blow your socks off. It does happen but they're far and few between. This Haruko LP/ CD (the CD is housed in a 12" vinyl sleeve!) on Bracken records is one of said sock blowing off records and I'm now sat barefoot wondering where the fuck my socks are. Haruko is a lady called Susanne Stanglow who currently lives in Germany and there she recorded this album at home over a 3 week period. Throughout the 10 tracks on 'Wild Geese' you'll be treated to some beautifully crafted simple songs which leave their hooks in crippling the ability for any other song to get into your head (until you hear some annoying shite on the radio.... and then you'll want to smash your radios face off). Susanne's voice is delicate and frail, and it's daubed over the guitar plucking with such simplicity you'll be weeping like a baby in no time. I'm not sure what to write about this album to be honest as I think the music just speaks for itself. Fans of early Cat Power will like this as it's not a million miles away from Chan Marshall's earlier more sparse recordings. It's thoroughly delightful and I can see this appearing on a lot of folks end of years lists. That is if they get a hold of one as there's only 300 vinyls pressed so I wouldn't dawdle if you're unsure!!

Love this record? Hate it? Tell us.

Sound clips for Wild Geese by Haruko: on vinyl at Norman Records UK. LP (vinyl), Bracken, FERN13, £13.99.

What their label says...

This is one of the most beautifully evocative albums I’ve ever heard.
The problem with that is; how on earth can I follow this? Perhaps the answer is a follow-up album by Haruko. After all, she’s still a teenager and has a whole life to live yet. Though her songs belie that fact.
Haruko is Susanne Stanglow (Susi) and she currently resides in Bremen in Germany. Susi recorded this album during three weeks in December 2008 at her house. Oh, therefore it isn’t perfect, but it’s perfectly flawed and perfectly human. My mate, Fran Ashcroft (Mastering and Tinkering), made it a little more perfect.
Susi on the recording: “I really, really hope you like them because ... I am not totally satisfied. I wasn't able to do professional recordings, as you know, so I tried my best with the stuff I had. It was sometimes a little hard since it's so cold in my room that I was freezing and there were always noises around so that I had to stop recording sometimes and the mic of my recorder is not so good and - oh my god ---so many things.”
Andy Heartless-Bastard Bracken wrote: “I’m glad that the recording circumstances were not ideal. I think it will add to the intimacy of the songs. I imagine being lost on a mountain with wolves all around would be a cold and frightening experience, for example, so it’s only right you sound that way.”
What’s it all about? It’s about being outdoors all year round, climbing, walking, running, stalking. It’s about mountains and wooded lands, little birds and desert sands. It’s about changing seasons, enchanted lands, dragons and monsters, and holding hands. It’s about nightmares and dreams and cats and time, and children living in nursery-rhyme. It’s about love and loss, and discovering things, fairytales and nature dancing, and it’s how a waterfall would sound if it could sing. It’s about safely waking on the perfect day for you, smiling at nothing to be done except what you choose to do.
It’s about what life should be about, and it’s one of the most beautifully evocative albums I’ve ever heard.