Petrels

Bleeding Heart's Oliver Barrett makes his debut solo record as Petrels with Haeligewielle. Haeligewielle is a drone record first and foremost, but one that opens the mind to deep introspection. Barrett explores a variety of textures, ranging from the distorted ambiance of "Canute," which is a technical work comparable to Canadian producer Tim Hecker's signature sound, to the more subdued droning of "Silt" and "After Francis Danby," which feature string-tinkling and slow, repetitive bass pulses reminiscent of Jacaszek. While drone-heavy records always run the risk of being assimilated into indiscernible uniformity that can often put the listener to sleep (though such sleep induction is often extremely relaxing), the melodic, Gregorian-esque vocal work of "Concrete" stimulates back to active introspection, which may have diminished over the first few tracks. "Concrete" is easily the most powerful piece on the record, exhibiting a humanistic beauty that's often lost in space with instrumental drone works, reminding us of the sheer power of the orchestrated human voice.