Another fine tip-off from my Washington Correspondent, I said back in February after listening to it for a few weeks previous that “I strongly suspect that this band and this album will be all over the place by the Summer”, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t that far off. The Head and the Heart have been quietly and happily snowballing their way through the year, and it’s a rare end of year list that doesn’t have this somewhere towards the top end (although the Guardian seem to have taken a bit of umbrage with it in general). Such was the sheer swell of word of mouth surrounding this, I’m fairly sure that I would have embraced it at some point anyway, but it’s nice to have got in somewhere near the start and got those few extra months’ worth of pleasure out of it. As well as getting to pretend briefly that people actually read this nonsense.
Of course, I was nowhere near “the first” to have gotten into this Seattle six-piece, as 10,000 US Northwesterners had already been enjoying the fruits of this self-titled album from last year before Sub Pop stepped in and made them go all famous everywhere else by first releasing the album digitally on New Year’s Day followed by a three-dimensional offering in the Spring. Following this, Heavenly Records have released it yet again in the UK in the Summer, so it’s been a steady stream of positive vibes all the way.
The Head and the Heart have described themselves as “shamelessly happy”, and this is obvious throughout this record. Incredibly tight throughout, they’re not afraid to be slightly silly from the off, with Cats and Dogs showing their fun side as being their most important. Journeys both from and to an indefinable somewhere seem to play a part, always with purpose and stressing that the travel is always worthwhile and fun (making them a sort of Littlest Hobo for the 21st Century), and almost always spent in company thanks to the group’s exemplary vocal harmonies that raise the emotional pitch of every song to gospel levels, that just invite everyone within listening distance to stop whatever it is they’re doing and join in – they’re not so much a band as a community you never knew you were a part of. There’s a joy apparent in every minute here, just like every good and great debut album ever made for the benefit of themselves and the people who have been flocking to see them in their hometown while the rest of us “Johnny-Come-Latetotheparty”s had to wait for the likes of Sub Pop, Heavenly and friends in the know in order to catch up.
In brief, this is as high as it is here for more than one reason, and not all of them musical. Firstly, I should listen to what people tell me is good more often. Secondly, it’s brilliant to see people succeed in this weird and increasingly shortcut-ridden (both in and out) industry so quickly just by the virtue of being very good at what they do, and finally because it’s really, really uplifting to listen to.
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