This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
I Need to Start a Garden is the debut studio album by American musician Haley Heynderickx. It was released in March 2018 under Mama Bird Recording Company. In an interview, Haley Heynderickx explained it took three attempts to record the album. Her first attempt was at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, with musician Colyn Cameron, however a horse had passed away during one of her songs. She explained "I lost faith in the songs and myself. The horse died". The second was at a conventional studio, but Heynderickx felt inhibited by insecurity and worries about money from the cost of the studio: "It doesn't feel like a labour of love when every moment you're in a studio it feels like you're losing money. The last thing I want to think about when capturing songs that were made from a place of love, is money." Her third attempt was made at Nomah Studios – an in-house licensing studio set up by Heynderickx's friends. I Need to Start a Garden was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 80 based on 10 reviews. Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 80 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 9 reviews.
My submission! Beautiful album. Sounds even better on vinyl and best live.
Great sounding music and a beautiful voice
Really good soft indie stuff. I think it needs a few more spins, but could see it being in regular rotation.
Saw Hayley live a few weeks ago, they're super talented. Thank you for submitting this album, love it.
9/10. This was really chill, definitely need to revisit at a time when I can listen to the lyrics more attentively, because what I heard, I liked.
The first few songs were lovely, timid songs. It felt like everything fits good together. The second part of the album is more uptempo. And in another way, everything fits too! Precious little surprise
Pretty incredible. This is a very specific kind of music that I am 100% in the pocket for
I have listened to The Bug Collector so many times
If you want heart-wrenching queer-coded indie folk, look no further than this Portland singer-songwriter. 9/10
Well this was just a delightful dollop of indie folk today. I definitely enjoyed it as a whole, but Oom Sha La La in particular is going to be on heavy rotation for me this year, I can already tell.
The album's sound is truly captivating. The guitar in 'The Bug Collector' is particularly mesmerizing, and the overall arrangements are masterfully crafted. The singer's voice is exquisite, seamlessly blending with the music like a glove. A beautiful folk record. I have listened to it on a Sunday morning, it probably enhances its charm
Lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely.
I like a good singer/songwriter with a beautiful voice, and this certainly qualifies. Very nice, interesting songs, excellent lyrics, beautiful arrangements. I don’t like her hairstyle on the album cover, that’s my only real negative. 4 stars.
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: The bug collector, Worth it, Oom sha la la
I listened to it twice. I'm a sucker for PNW indie folk so it's no surprise that I really enjoyed this album. It's fitting that there are some punk influences as well recalling the Riot Grrrl movement also from the PNW. It's not the best example of its genre I've every heard, but I'm a fan of the mix of folk and punk. Heynderickx's voice is fantastic as well.
Perfectly lovely
This was really lovely. This album starts with a fairly minimalist sound, with well placed upbeat moments on the back half that keep it from dragging or feeling too precious. The lyrics you could read on their own as poetry. Thanks for sharing this. High 3, bumped to a 4. Fave Songs: The Bug Collector, No Face, Untitled God Song, Drinking Song, Oom Sha La La
Mjög notalegt.
Usually I don’t like folk music like this but something about this one worked for me. Well written with haunting/beautiful production and vocals what more could u ask for. Not many songs stuck out but was a solid half hour overall
Autumnal as all get out. The most pretentious thought I had was "if Florence Welch got really into Pile". I enjoyed it, but feel like it, at certain points, attempted to be more "impressive" than "good", as in "Worth It", where I love individual parts (that outro!) but didn't find it transitioning smoothly. Call it a 3.5. Favorite tracks: "The Bug Collector", "Untitled God Song"
Chill music and beautiful lyrics
Pretty album. Good songs, nice voice. A little low key but I liked it.
Pleasant.
Heynderickx's all-too-brief thesis reveals itself, this time, as about groups. Folk music, it turns out, in its small ensembles, is a member of large-group genre club. Elements of the natural and home world symbolize relationships on this record, with touches of jazz, classical, and band tunes the musical reminders.
I liked this. It felt to me like the product of an artist still in formation, but a lot of talent and potential. I think she would benefit from some collaborators to fill out the sound.
It's nice folk. Not exactly groundbreaking, but it was lovely. Reminds me a bit of Mothers early work.
I like the rockier parts better than the folkier parts.
Lovely minimalistic approach and some very sweet melodies. The vocals harmonies are just perfect. Nice one!
Lovely and sometimes biting indie folk. I can really get into this, when the mood is right.
The good alt-folk
Listened to this one a good deal over 2020 and was familiar with the more popular tracks. Those that incorporate a full band have some wonderful arrangements and instrumentation, and Heynderickx's vocals swing from soothing to frenetic to perfectly match whatever the mood may be. I do wish the experimental singer-songwriter streak present in the bigger tracks was consistent throughout the album, but overall this is a solid listen and I hope we get more material from Haley soon!
Pretty chill
Good to middling alternative folk rock.
Before getting stuck in to the user generated albums, I am going to define the scoring criteria I will use. In applying it, I'll be guided mainly by gut reaction. I might factor in some context on occasion, but largely it will just be how much I like the album and the the degree to which it connects with me. 5-MASTERPIECE (4.5-exceptional) 4-GREAT (3.5-very good) 3-GOOD (2.5-average) 2-POOR (1.5 very poor) 1-BAD (0.5 awful) I Need to Start a Garden, by Haley Heynderickx A cool singer songwriter album. Minimal modern folky instrumentation, an emotive, sad and dreamy vocal with intriguing lyrics. Slightly reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and really quite lovely. Rating: 3.5 Playlist track: Oom Sha La La Date listened: 16/07/24
Bob Boilen-core, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Indie folk. Ni fu ni fa.
Cute yet powerful
twee indie folk, oddly-spelled name and she's from Portland! Take my 2/5.
Not my jam
Well that could have been heard at any open mic night in the world and you would have forgotten it by the next artist. 1.8
Ok
Mercifully short. I’ve never been a huge fan of this kind of music, but that’s on me and no reflection of the talent and effort that has gone into this album.
Not much into this melancholic music