Self-titled Debut Album
The Head and the Heart
Album Rating: 2 1/2 M's
Genre: Folk, pop, rock, awesome,
This might be one of the better bands you've never heard of. The Head and the Heart launched itself onto the music scene in Seattle 2 years ago when they all met at a bar. The album starts off strong with "Cats and Dogs" and it feels like a potential huge hit for the group. The band has this wonderfully delightful mix of folk and pop that fuses together.
The next song of note is "Down in the Valley" that is emphatically and almost begrudgingly slow, but slowly builds itself to a crescendo of glory and then falls back down. It's incredible.
Here is a link for a free download of their song "Down in the Valley:"
Then we get a song like "Rivers and Roads" that just breaks your heart. It reminds me a lot of The Avett Brothers...and that's a good thing. It's sad lyrics reinforce feelings of loneliness and alienation in a beautiful and poignant manner. The song breaks in the middle for some primal Mumford & Sons yearning, mixed with a cool drum beat at the end combined with the lulling voices of singers Charity Rose Thielen, Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell.
The album is best listened to a few times...and then some more. Some of the songs like "Lost In My Mind" are easy to gloss over, but they are pretty good. I enjoyed "Sounds Like Hallelujah" as well. I wish more bands could make music like this.
Overall:
This is a really fun album that has some great songs. Not all of them are wonderful, but there are some gems and this band would definitely be a good one to check out.
-Soren Nieminen
