Music Review // Chris Bullinger "How To Bleed (Castle Sessions)"

This version of "How To Bleed" finds Chris Bullinger stripped down to an acoustic guitar, his voice and one electric guitar also coming through.   The sound is very minimal and slow moving.  For some reason, when I listen to this I think it could be a song by Soul Asylum but I also have that spaced out pace of a song such as "Glycerine" by Bush.

Lyrically this is an interesting song because it can be taken in different ways depending upon your experiences in life.   The chorus has the lines: "Sometimes I reach for your hand / Most times I'm just cold / I don't ask you to understand / Just don't let me go", which feels a lot like someone asking someone else to stick with them through the good and bad times, but with the emphasis on the bad times.

There is also a change where at first the lyrics are "But I know how to bleed" and they later change to "So you'll know how to bleed" and in that sense I think this just becomes a rather serious song about mental health issues.   While it doesn't have to be about bleeding specifically, it's just that idea that whatever this person is going through, they're in pain and soon because of that you will also feel pain but in an empathetic way.

The acoustic guitar and electric guitar blend together well here.  There is an electric guitar solo at one point even.   But this has such a somber feel to it all around.  It's soft spoken and just feels like a conversation you don't want to have, but it must be said.   "How To Bleed" just feels like such a lovely song and if it can shine a light on mental health struggles then that seems like an even better reason to listen.