Heartleap

Heartleap
Studio album by
Released6 October 2014
Recorded2007–2014
GenrePsychedelic folk, freak folk
Length34:42
LabelFatCat
ProducerVashti Bunyan
Vashti Bunyan chronology
Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind – Singles and Demos 1964 to 1967
(2007)
Heartleap
(2014)

Heartleap is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan, released on October 6, 2014, in the UK on FatCat Records and October 7 in the U.S. via DiCristina. First announced in June, Heartleap was accompanied by a statement where Bunyan wrote, "The whole point of the album was finally to learn a way that would enable me to record the music that is in my head, by myself. I neither read nor write music, nor can I play piano with more than one hand at a time, but I have loved being able to work it all out for myself and make it sound the way I wanted. I've built these songs over years. The album wouldn't have happened any other way."[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[2]
Metacritic82/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Clash7/10[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Line of Best Fit8.5/10[7]
Mojo[8]
MusicOMH[9]
Pitchfork7.8/10[10]
PopMatters7/10[11]
Q[12]
Record Collector[13]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Heartleap received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from 17 critic scores.[3]

Track listing

All songs written, arranged and produced by Vashti Bunyan, except arrangement of strings in "Across the Water", improvised by Fiona Brice and Ian Burdge.

No.TitleLength
1."Across the Water"3:48
2."Holy Smoke"4:48
3."Mother"3:30
4."Jellyfish"3:42
5."Shell"4:08
6."The Boy"1:40
7."Gunpowder"3:04
8."Blue Shed"2:11
9."Here"3:18
10."Heartleap"4:39

Personnel

  • Vashti Bunyan - Guitars, synth, producer, vocals, arrangements, piano, dulcitone
  • Martin Korth - Mixing
  • Mandy Parnell - Mastering
  • Whyn Lewis - Cover painting
  • dlt - Design and layout
  • Fiona Brice - Strings, violin
  • Ian Burdge - Strings, cello
  • Gillon Cameron - Strings, violin
  • Jo Mango - Kalimba, flute
  • Gareth Dickson - Guitars
  • Andy Cabic - Guitars, vocals
  • Devendra Banhart - Vocals
  • Ian Wilson - Recorder, saxophone

References

  1. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (2 July 2014). "Vashti Bunyan Says New Album Will Be Her Last". Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Heartleap by Vashti Bunyan Reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Heartleap - Vashti Bunyan". Metacritic. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  4. ^ Jurek, Thom. "Heartleap - Vashti Bunyan". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  5. ^ Hampson, Gemma. "Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap". Clash. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  6. ^ Denselow, Robin. "Heartleap - Vashti Bunyan". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  7. ^ Godley, Simon. "Heartleap - Vashti Bunyan". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Vashti Bunyan: Heartleap". Mojo: 93. November 2014.
  9. ^ Paton, Daniel. "Vashti Bunyan – Heartleap". MusicOMH. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  10. ^ Richardson, Mark. "Vashti Bunyan: Heartleap". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  11. ^ Risch, Eric. "Vashti Bunyan: Heartleap". PopMatters. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Vashti Bunyan: Heartleap". Q: 108. November 2014.
  13. ^ Atkins, Jamie. "Heartleap - Record Collector". Record Collector. Retrieved 29 October 2014.