Vena Portae, by Vena Portae

Vena Portae

by Vena Portae

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Comes in gatefold card sleeve with 12 page booklet

Includes unlimited streaming of Vena Portae via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
12" vinyl - includes CD with bonus tracks: Boys, Sidereal and Summer Kills (Peter Morén remix)

Includes unlimited streaming of Vena Portae via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Summer Kills 03:05	lyrics	buy track
Our hearts barely beat with all these broken parts And it seems unlikely we’ll mend them in the dark Morning sun don’t rise and show me Colours slowly fading away Ghosts in my coffee and underneath my skin The seams of my dresses the ones you loved me in And the cells of my own blood Dreaming pathways back to you I don’t know what I should do I don’t know what I should do I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills This is me at midnight I’m calling out to you Clutching at memories in search of something You don’t have to tell me baby, I know you are true But I lost my footing back there upon the rocks And I lost my soul to someone I should not You don’t have to tell me baby I’ll find my way, I’ll find my way back to you I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills I want you, I want you to be by my side summer kills
2.	Before The Winter Came 03:24	lyrics	buy track
Will the swallows be waiting there for me? Like they’ve done before, take me to your door Pick me up where we left Through the days we forget We returned just before the winter came Set me down at the end Where the sea meets the land We returned just before the winter came Bracken to the sea, waves will always be Breaking on this shore, take me to your door Pick me up where we left Through the days we forget We returned just before the winter came Set me down at the end Where the sea meets the land We returned just before the winter came Winds rolling, souls calling Dive under deep water Leaves turning The tide’s a comin’ in We’re boats on the deep water Pick me up where we left Through the days we forget We returned just before the winter came Set me down at the end Where the sea meets the land We returned just before the winter came
3.	Foal 03:19	lyrics	buy track
Pine needles underfoot After rain, dripping in the woods We wear no shoes when we cross the stream Dappled shadows, brother pulling on my sleeve Move in cautiously behind the bushes There’s something in the leaves A foal is crying, its mother on the ground Her eyes are open but she makes no sound The foal’s leg is broken, crows circle all around A scream shoots through the branches Then he covers my mouth What would father do? We’re all alone here and we don’t know what to do He leaves me standing by the mother and foal Says he won’t be long but the minutes pass slow And after what seems hours he returns to me With a rock in his hands, he need not speak Moonlight on the stream and over our hands as we clean Mists rise through the green of the forest as we leave Mists rise through the green of the forest as we leave
4.	Solitary Wives 02:36	lyrics	buy track
Gray waves carve the shore November skies are chasing Pine trees bending low Cling their feet in the buckthorn weeds Seagulls crying out The wind against our faces Eyes fixed far away Silently standing still as stone Waiting for the fisherman For the sailor boy For the long lost son For my lover’s arms To return (For the long lost son, for my lover’s arms) Gray waves carve the shore Like they’ve done for ages Rosebush braves the sea Planted by loving hands long gone Waiting for the fisherman For the soldier boy For the long lost son For my lover’s arms To return (For the long lost son, for my lover’s arms)
5.	Turning Key 03:16	lyrics	buy track
Oh, we heard the calling from The eaves, where we would sleep some more The embers burned and so did our sleeping hearts Oh, we heard them calling from The towers where we could climb no more The way was lost, along with our sleeping hearts Oh, we heard them calling from The stairs of our father’s house Like memories, they followed our sleeping hearts There’s a turning key There’s a burning light How they call to me I can hear them from the rooftop Souls out in the night Oh, there’s no one calling from the towers So we will build them higher Than before, build with our fearsome hearts Oh, there’s no one calling from the stairs Of our father’s house We closed the doors and followed our fearsome hearts There’s a turning key There’s a burning light How they call to me I can hear them from the rooftop Souls out in the night
6.	Transatlantic 04:27	lyrics	buy track
(Music & lyrics by Christian Kjellvander) I never wanted it to end This m/s can roll and is built by steel that bends Under a million star sky The bow wind brought more than tears to my eyes And we all have ways of dealing with this pace Now the nights are simply transports for the days I’m transatlantic...for a while Goodbye to you, fair Canada The St Lawrence slowly fades beneath my sleep And like a thousand burning hells I will cleanse my soul with mid-atlantic swells And one can get addicted to this pace Sometimes it seems like it’s all about getting away I’m transatlantic...for a while
7.	Flames & Fury 02:42	lyrics	buy track
I believe every lie that leaves your sweet lips In return for me babe never tell me how it is Let’s fill in all these cracks with excuses Crash your love upon me All your flames and fury Smoke us out the house and damn us both to hell Your love is deadly All your flames and fury I’m burning like a fever and we’re both damned to hell I blinkered my eyes and covered my ears So I’ll follow you blind for hundreds of years Let’s fill up our souls with excuses Crash your love upon me All your flames and fury Smoke us out the house and damn us both to hell Your love is deadly All your flames and fury I’m burning like a fever and we’re both damned to hell So pucker up my babe and come over here I’ll fall at your feet in worship and fear Let’s fill in all this shame with excuses Crash your love upon me All your flames and fury Smoke us out the house and damn us both to hell Your love is deadly All your flames and fury I’m burning like a fever and we’re both damned to… Crash your love upon me All your flames and fury Smoke us out the house and damn us both to hell Your love is deadly All your flames and fury I’m burning like a fever and we’re both damned to hell
8.	Magpie's Carol 02:13	lyrics	buy track
Under the shade of the Jarrah tree I’ll ask you to stand Still as the water in the Blackwood river that winds its way beneath our feet I’ll ask you to hold your breath for a minute and I’ll hold mine too Maybe we could keep so still that time will cease And I’ll ask the question I’ve always asked and always will Fate stretches like fabric the cloth in which we bind ourselves My heart will shout and stumble hearing the answer Skip to the end of the red dirt road that leads to your home Slip through leaves and the smell of summer to the magpie’s carol Reeds in the river wade out to the middle of the clear, clear blue And I’ll ask the question I’ve always asked and always will Fate stretches like fabric the cloth in which we bind ourselves And I’ll ask the question I’ve always asked and always will Fate stretches like fabric the cloth in which we bind ourselves
9.	Stingrays 03:23	lyrics	buy track
Stingrays move from the dark to light blue Drawn to the shore by the fish that we threw Our skin it was burnt by a stolen sun As ships said goodbye and set sail for London We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land Branches break and the purple bark sheds To the soil then the street where the strangers all tread We’ve tired out our muscles and the jokes are all spent As we carry the timber like wounded old men We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land Rivers and roads run to the sea Where boats wait like coffins down by the jetty The last of the wood is taken below Now the Karries are gone and the roses won’t grow We’d walk through the trees until leaves gave way to sand And wondered what we’d do after falling every tree in the land
10.	The Mapless Sea 03:20	lyrics	buy track
There was a boy who wandered Travelled the oceans wide Followed the constellations They kept telling me I’d be just fine They kept telling me I’d be just fine Boy of the mapless sea Called to the birds above Followed the tides of the moon She kept telling me I’d be just fine She kept telling me I’d be just fine Well the boy had a shadow He followed it all the way It whispered to him at night Keep on rowing and you’ll be just fine Keep on rowing and you’ll be just fine Follow the silver lights That shine beneath the waves Swim down to the bottom Keep on swimming and you’ll be just fine Keep on swimming and you’ll be just fine When he got to the bottom There was nothing to find Broken boats and bottles Swim back up and you’ll be just fine Swim back up and you’ll be just fine So the boy left his shadow Beneath the rolling sea All the waves were singing Keep on rowing and you’ll be just fine Keep on rowing and you’ll be just fine Calling out, tearing at the darkness Calling out, slipping through a memory Calling out, swallowed by a shadow Calling out, out across the morning…
11.	All Will Be Well 02:48	lyrics	buy track
Each day these days are darker Than the day that came before The cats and dogs are silent And the rooster crows no more But this crooked path will straighten out And the blackbird change its tune The meadows will be blooming And the sun will shine come June All will be well, will be well All will be well, will be well The silence of the night it seeps Into our very core It stares through every window And it’s knocking at our door The moon has turned away And all the stars are angled wrong But time will turn them right And put them back where they belong All will be well, will be well All will be well, will be well The words we whisper softly Are choked by their own sound They lose their loving meaning And fall cold upon the ground Your touch is soft but distant As we slowly drift apart But warmer days will come And they will thaw our broken hearts All will be well, will be well All will be well, will be well All will be well, all will be well All will be well, will be well
12.	Boys 03:25	info	buy track
13.	Sidereal 02:16	info	buy track

about

Vena Portae are an Anglo-Swedish alt-folk band, comprised of award-winning singer/songwriter Emily Barker, songwriter and performer Dom Coyote, and Swedish producer and multi-instrumentalist Ruben Engzell.

In the winter of 2012, Vena Portae found themselves in the tiny, snowed-in Swedish town of Mölnbo just outside Stockholm. They built a make-shift studio, full to the rafters with analogue equipment, spring reverbs, electric guitars, banjos, pianos and an array of weird and wonderful instruments and over the space of twelve bitterly cold days, they recorded a treasure trove of songs, inspired by heartbreak, passion, and intrigue, which together make up the album Vena Portae.

"a thoughtful, melodic style that eases between Americana and pop-edged alt-folk" Guardian 4/5
"Alluring songs" Mojo 4/5
"You can safely assume Anglo-Swedish alt-folk is a fairly small sub-genre on the musical tree, but however large it was, this trio would be at the top" Daily Express 4.5/5
"gorgeous… haunting… impressive… a relaxing and atmospheric album" Maverick 4.5/5
"An elegant achievement" Uncut
"a layered and carefully executed recording" What HiFi
"the harmonies are beautiful..." HiFi+ 8/10
"Full of real quality in all departments from beginning to end, utility and luxury in one package" AmericanaUK 8/10
"a spine tingling sense of familiarity" Spiral Earth
“edgy folk… traditional instruments fit together seamlessly in making people feel the music they are playing” R2 Rock’n’Reel
"deep, atmospheric lullabies and wonderful unison vocals" Never Enough Notes
"the whole record absorbs the country duet feel to wonderful effect" CultureFly
"a record that feels incredibly unique - a modern take on a vintage sound" The Ruckus
"full of melodious moments, beautifully sung and underpinned by a strong roots sound" Three Chords And The Truth

credits

released August 18, 2014

This album was performed, produced, recorded and mixed by Vena Portae at Hagaberg and Studio Ljudriket, Sweden

All songs written by Vena Portae (Normal Music Ltd/Domino Publishing Company Ltd.)
except Transatlantic: music & lyrics by Christian Kjellvander (Warner/Chappell Music)

Mastered by Linus Larsson at Studio Hogrän / Photos by Johan Bergmark / Cover design & logo by Melina Grundel

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