In times when arbitrariness, absolutist madness and the pressure to reject each other are boiled up into some kind of new normality, it sometimes feels as if you are doomed to drown in your sea of sorrows. Until you manage to resist the maelstrom, once again. To focus on the good and the beautiful, and to nurture it stout-heartedly. Nobody said, it’s gonna be easy. On his fifth album, Bruch seems to draw an analogy between the sea and life with his choice of title. The sea itself has never been friendly to humans. Although potentially beautiful, above all it is a harsh force and not a benevolent being. „At most it has been the accomplice of human restlessness“ - J. Conrad

If you want, Bruch can be your companion, The Harbour of the Broken Hearted (THOTBH) your new state of mind. Ramshackle but transcendent. Oscillating between the repetitive pulses of electronic music and organ-orchestrated minimalism, Bruch throws out comforting loops of sound just like fishing nets, that suck you into his stories unwaveringly. His evocative and unadorned vocal style adds to Bruch's depth, soul and sincerity. Drifting and driven amidst uplifting gloom. At times, solemnly striding against foggy and dogmatic black-and-white-thinking, rearing up in opulent resistance, then again just hopelessly beautiful and achingly wistful. Occasionally, Bruch’s laid-back observations can also end in a wild ride. By introducing The Crusher, Bruch enters the harbour with full sails of self-reflexion – and we realize, sometimes it’s all just about having to endure yourself. Or… is it all about love?

In the end, each and every of THOTBH’s songs turns out to have a cathartic quality. Bruch's THOTBH might not be a safe space, but it accepts us as we are. With our doubts, our own frailties and our shortcomings. No need for embarrassment within the fragile. No need for shame and fear in expression. No need to shy away from creating something beautiful. You better learn to spell „Sehnsucht“ – as it turns out to be the everlasting keyword!

„The Harbour Of The Broken Hearted is a soliloquy of many. Searching for a simple form of beauty and the vast amount of attitude and power it carries. It is hope and devastation. It is beauty and fail. It’s nothing, but precious.“ – Philipp Hanich