Album Review: The Head And The Heart, Let’s Be Still

Seattle – It was hard to resist the catchy beauty of The Head and The Heart’s first album back in 2011. It might not have been the best-written collection of songs or the most groundbreaking but, really, it was a challenge to listen to “Down in the Valley” just once so the simplicity of the songs was irrelevant. It’s only been two years since the band’s breakthrough but “simple” is not a word that could be used on this Seattle sextet anymore. The Head and the Heart released its sophomore album “Let’s Be Still” October 15 on Sub Pop Records; it is immediately a more diverse album than the band’s self-titled debut and while their classic indie-folk ingredients remain the same, they’ve obviously matured.

The Head and the Heart had this odd characteristic in the first album— with songs that aren’t shy in length and with multiple songwriters in the group, tracks frequently sounded like a disjointed combination of multiple songs. It worked because all of the pieces were great, but “Let’s Be Still” has shed this flaw and is an overall stronger set of cohesive tracks. Frontman Josiah Johnson admitted that “this is the first time we produced as a full band,” and each member’s input is obvious in the output.

The band has taken the best of what it was offering in its first album and used it as the groundwork for “Let’s Be Still”. At its core, this is still banjo-laden indie-folk album that would be part of the Mumford & Sons and Lumineers clique in a modern music playground. Instead of comfortably staying there, however, The Head and the Heart has branched out to incorporate synth-pop and dance-beat elements that distinguishes the band safely. This versatility could lend itself to a disorganized album, but instead the Head and the Heart has additionally constructed a well-ordered album.“Springtime” blend seamlessly into “Summertime” through Charity Thielen’s ethereal vocals and “Springtime” itself is expertly placed as an emotional respite after the album’s most epic track – “Another Story.” “Another Story” tells the devastating tale of the Newtown shooting through Johnson’s eyes. Lyrics like “the sun still rises even through the pain” define the sentiment of the track which is clearly mirrored in the instrumental accompaniment. There are rises and falls, orchestral additives, moments of peace; this all amounts to a triumphant track that radiates a reflective hopefulness. In this, the maturity of this album isn’t limited to its sound but clearly extends to the lyrical capability of the group.