The Head and the Heart - "The Head and the Heart" (LP Review)

SXSW is underway, and at this time of the year I always think about Lee Dirks and my trip there in 2012.  Lee and I always talked music, and one the recommendations he gave me at SXSW and repeated in email was about Seattle-based The Head and the Heart:

... They burst on the scene in 2010 and then full-on exploded in 2011.  If you listen to their stuff, I think you'll definitely pick-up the multiple style similarities.  Their album is awesome - well worth picking up.  I'm clearly biased towards them as I saw them in small clubs here long before they blew up...and I told friends to watch out for them, as I *knew* they were going to blow up.   I'd like to think I had some great sense or insight here, but it was pretty obvious they were head and shoulders above the other local bands on the scene.   Check them out...

Based on his recommendations, I picked up their 2011 self-titled debut LP.  Official reviews are mixed, for example the Pitchfork review is rather unforgiving ("Conceptually, they're close to Mumford & Sons: opportunistic in their borrowings, yet entirely unimaginative in the execution. Theirs is a thoroughly timid, tentative take on Americana: roots music without the roots.").  My assessment of the LP is more in line with Lee's than Pitchfork's: I find the execution inspired and grounded.

I'm also choosing this LP to kick-off Women's History Month.  The band had six members for their fist LP, and while I don't wish to minimize the contributions of the other five members, the secret weapon here is violinist and vocalist Charity Rose Thielen.  They have three primary singers (and other other three sing backup), but my enjoyment of their songs is directly proportional to how much she is a featured vocalist.  The LP starts off mildly, but the last half closes strongly, and Charity is a big part of why. 

Standout songs: River and Roads (exemplary live version), Honey Come Home (live KEXP), Lost in My Mind, Winter Song (live version), Sounds Like Hallelujah, Heaven Go Easy On Me (live version).

Skip 'em songs: none

Final score: 8/10.  Thanks Lee for turning me on to these guys.



Bonus connection: Dog-n-Burger, a local dining institution, is closing next week after 50 years in the same spot.  DnB reminds me of various BBQ places Lee took us in Austin, and the Redwood Smoke Shack that will replace it is a Texas-style BBQ place.  They're thinking about adding live music, so maybe we can catch the next up-and-coming indie-folk band there.