I thought I'd heard of everything, but that's a new one for me. Make sure your laces aren't twisted? I wouldn't think tightening / loosening would change the bunching.
Maybe try socks with a different texture?
Weird right? I've just laced them like in this video. I'll try them out tomorrow. I'm in the market for new socks anyway.
http://lifehacker.com/keep-a-shoe-tongue-in-place-by-looping-laces-back-throu-1601860246