Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The Head and the Heart


The Head and the Heart is a Seattle band unlike most. Rather than loads of flannel and crunchy guitars, (or sounding like Modest Mouse) this six piece group is as rustic and backwoods as the mountainous area that surrounds that city. Embracing folk music as much as they do piano pop, The Head and the Heart write songs that are targeted to those areas specifically and dwell on it as much as they can. They write music for fireside chats and cups of joe…they write folk music to wake up to and folk music to slow dance too.

Much of The Head and the Heart features sweeping piano playing along with orchestral elements including everything from cellos to glockenspiels. It’s a lush record for something so rustic. Its rootsy and earthy and a bit lost but it wants to find itself and one suspects it will thanks to the craftsmanship and emotion engrained in each and every song.

The Head and the Heart’s self titled album is a sentimental affair that hints at their hometown, leaving their hometown, finding love, and finding you. I suppose it’s all the usual stuff but these guys spin such dusty and dear tales around those topics that you’re drawn to them. While a bit too soft rock-ish for me at times, some of the stuff that The Head and the Heart write hits a bit close to home. This is a coming of age record written on the road in the middle of nowhere. Its Americana lost in America and searching for a destination...whether it finds one is up to you.

No comments:

Post a Comment