The Head AND the Heart?- Music a la Mode

Another day stuck in traffic on my commute home from work, trying to unwind and look for the perfect song to capture my mood- always a hard task. But today I hear something that makes my ears perk up... as I am flipping through the stations, I hear a song that immediately intrigues me. I crank up the volume, and work my memory hard (trying to even recall a few of my college studying techniques... King Henry Died By Drinking Chocolate Milk... Anyone??) to try and remember all of the words in this song so I can download it as soon as I get home.  Okay, so I admit, I couldn’t remember all of it (I do not have photographic, or immediate song memory), but what I did remember was a catchy chorus that went a little something like this: “I am on my way, on my way, I am on my way back to where I started. California, Oklahoma, all of the places I ain’t ever been to.. down in the valley, whiskey rivers, these are the places you will find me hiding.  These are the places I will always go.”  Ah, the music has the most beautiful harmonies, and combined with a refreshing folk sound as well as the building of the piano, and then climax of the song just made me so dang happy!  After I ran in the door and found the name of this mysterious song, I stumbled upon the creators of this masterpiece: an indie-folk pop band called “The Head and the Heart”.  Wondering why they choose this quirky name? I was too. Band member (and the only chick!) says, “So many decisions in life and in the music we love can come down to a critical tug between the logic in our heads and the hot red blood beating through our hearts.” Well ain’t that the truth? Speaks to me (as I know it speaks to my fellow emotional- music junkie Nicole.) This band decided to create beautiful music in the middle of that crux that we all often find ourselves in.

Six talented individuals got their first start after many frequent visits to the open-mic night at Conor Byrne in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood (ah, the ever-burgeoning Seattle, Washington- Americana music scene) in the summer of 2009.  They decided to leave their day jobs (don't we all) and academic pursuits behind, and start recording. After listening to their whole album, no, unlike I thought, it is not just a one-hit wonder…I decided the WHOLE album is amazing. But seriously, each song is seriously better than the next.  

Many of the songs are inspired from those first months we all grapple with involving; the multicolored threads of leaving home, finding home, and through that process of deconstruction, finding yourself.  The Head and the Heart write and play songs that speak to the newness of a fresh start, of the ghosts left behind, of moving forward- all brimming with a soulfulness and hope for a better life than the one we've all been sold. I mean, seriously. Talk to me. 

Once you hear these powerful voices melded together you start to believe that these six people may have been meant to be find themselves together in life.  The full, rich harmonies mixed with an assortment of instruments including a piano, cello, violin, even handclaps(!), create pure magic.  No trickery involved, the band claims that the more genuine and honest they are in their songwriting and performing, the more the people seem to relate to the transparency.  Yep, I like it. I like them- almost as much as I like jamming to them on my commute to and from work. 

So from my heart and my head I beg you to listen to them as you find yourself in traffic, like many of you will at some point. 

-R