#seed of a seed

[talos-stims]

SEED OF A SEED

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[nolongersummer]

mouth of a flower - haley heynderickx / casimir pulaski day - sufjan stevens

[lulu-spooks]

God I wanna sleep but seed of a seed is slapping too fucking hard

[lovejustforaday]

2024 Year End List - #12

Seed of a Seed - Haley Heynderickx

Main Genres: Indie Folk

A decent sampling of: Americana

Haley Heynderickx has been on my list of artists I've been patiently waiting for years to drop a new record for a good long while now, though I hadn't necessarily realized it until I learned about the new record.

When last she dropped, it was her debut full-length, and I was a mildly depressed uni student that had discovered her music a few months later in the aftermath of two breakups in one year.

Needless to say, 2018's I Need To Start A Garden was a record that resonated with me in a year where I felt numb and fragile. Here was this folk artist, with this gorgeous voice, ever so slightly warbly, as if she had tears in her eyes with every note she sang, making these incredibly delicate folk mosaics all about her discontent and her isolation.

In particular, the arresting patterns of stillness and disruption that is "Show You a Body" was a track that, more than a few times, pulled me out of some of the darkest recesses of my own mind. I've now come to properly treasure this track, both for its impeccably captivating arrangement as well as the personal weight it holds for me.

After the debut, things got quiet with Haley Heynderickx's output. Six years came and went, and I had very much grown past that more tumultuous time in my life.

While I would not say I had forgotten about it, I do admit that I had not listened to the full length of Heynderickx's debut, or really any of its other tracks minus the aforementioned, for quite some time when I saw her new record pop up on my radar.

I decided to revisit the debut in anticipation of the new album, and found that my personal relationship to the record had morphed into what feels like an emotional time capsule that I had no idea that I had created. I was also reminded of just how much I loved that voice. Haley really might be one of the all-time folk vocalists for me. She has a way of articulating a lyric or a melody that is just so peculiar and graceful.

As for the artist herself, Haley Heynderickx is an American singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist based out of Portland, Oregon. She began her love of music in her youth when she went to church, and then as a children's music teacher. However, her brand of folk music as an adult has a few too many expletives for a child, or any of the average church-goers that I know.

Haley apparently had almost considered moving away from being a recording artist in the six years leading up to this, having gone back to school to study herbalism and foraging, looking to retreat inward and get in touch with the natural world. And her proximity to nature through her studies can definitely be felt in the sophomore record.

Seed of a Seed has an even more organic, earthy sound compared to its predecessor. It's also a much warmer, all more comforting record - still somewhat solitary and fragile as the debut, but more in the sense that Haley is embracing being an introvert, and basking in the temporal beauty of the Earth, albeit not without a sense of snark. It's also a fairly brief record, like its predecessor, just a fleeting thirty five minutes that comes and goes quite easily.

True to its cover art, this record feels deep into the woods, well beyond the beaten-path. It is, in many ways, an escapist record, one that I very recently found is particularly effective to listen to in the dead of long bus commutes home from ugly parking lot wastelands in the dead of winter - provided your eyes are closed so you can really see the images she's conjuring. Just lay back, and allow the resplendent finger-plucking to take you away.

"Gemini", the opener, articulates this record's central themes most eloquently, with lyrics that personify Heynderickx's own intuitive drive to set fire to the mundane things in her life, abandon her stress, and just appreciate the small joys, describing a "woman in the corner" that periodically takes over aspects of her life. In particular, I adore the line about the woman making her "pull the fuck over just to stare a purple clover off the highway".

"Foxglove" is dirt road wandering Americana with a hop in its step. I very much feel the Autumn harvest season listening to this, and it sounds quite Appalachian despite the records basis in the west coast's ecology. Bound to make me long for pumpkin patches, plaid over-shirts, the smell of kindling, and rickety-looking scarecrows.

Just as I Need to Start a Garden had it's atmospherically stunning midpoint with "Show You a Body", Seed of a Seed has "Redwoods (Anxious God)". Now this is a track that really evokes what I imagine when I picture the forests of the Pacific Northwest - A towering cathedral of trees that makes everything feel shaded, protected, perfectly hidden away. Here, I am safe, amongst the grandiose thumping of the songs' folk percussion, warm cellos, progressive finger-plucking, and Haley's jovial melody. The chorus is exhilirating, like inhaling all of that forest air while tumbling downhill. Heynderickx's little "Hands on hips, humming bird clicks" line followed by her barely audible, actual tongue clicks is genuinely so charming. Bless this song, it's just what the doctor ordered.

"Sorry Fahey" is a humble tune, centered around voice and guitar with strings and horn accompaniment. The song is another piece about nostalgia and loss, but what's most fascinating is how Heynderickx chooses to convey its message, with irregular, pointed intonation that gives a sort of chipper "huh, who woulda thunk?" energy that is nevertheless all too poignant and bittersweet.

The rest of this largely blends together for me. Not a moment of this constitutes anything less than a lovely listen, though much of it manages to go by without much fanfare. But it's is a record that thrives in its beauty, so I don't really mind.

Moreover, Seed of a Seed reveals its greatest treasures in fleeting moments, rebelling against the endless gratifications in a world that has become fast, preferring to slow down and take in the glow of the sun and the scent of the morning dew. I suspect this one will grow on me even more with time. Haley Heynderickx has a way of getting into your head and heart with time, if her last record is any indication.

8/10

Highlights: "Reedwoods (Anxious God)", "Gemini", "Sorry Fahey", "Foxglove"

FOR FANS OF: Dragon New Warm Mountain... by Big Thief Designer by Aldous Harding Infamous Angel by Iris DeMent

[charleyvstheants]

haley heynderickx is so right, there is an artistry to going away, it's so much harder to come back

[protectcosette]

just cound out haley heynderickx released a new album on nov 1 i am reacting so normally i promise i did NOT just let out a loud high pitched scream in my car

[shrubsteaparty]

HALEY HEYNDERICKX

Hey, this is an appreciation post for Haley Heynderickx and her music. I love her music, in fact she's my favorite music artist. So in celebration of her newest released song, I will be making a series of works in its honor. It'll have about 8 drawings in total! I can't wait to post them!! Actually if anyone else wants to join, please do. It'll be fun.

Any how, lets go plant some new seeds for an old garden.

[nando161mando]

[gongyussy]

i watch baseball for the side quests

update: i think you should look at the reblogs for more important baseball hijinks

[the-purvashadha]

"Would you peel an orange for me?"

I would peel a pomegranate for you.

[lulu-spooks]

Haley has blessed us once again. I’ve been praying for this for so long.

[botanyshitposts]

love when dogs come back to you with seeds stuck to them. lmao get used as dispersal idiot. that’s just what you get for snuffling the grasses