Well-established as American heroes of indie folk, and having garnered an impressive following across three albums and multiple performances on high profile US television shows, The Head and The Heart have harnessed the distance of the pandemic, channeling it into their latest release ‘Every Shade of Blue’.
The album sports a cinematic prowess through ambitious arrangement and high-end anthemic production, the new material spanning sixteen tracks all-in-all. With its warm orchestral introduction, the opening title track carries a dramatic and foreboding beauty that delves into a pacey country stomp, a cinematic soundtrack to a modern western, swimming in copious reverb.
The sound across the album follows suit, with tracks awash with reverb and often opening out into well-considered string arrangements, most notably in the country haze of ‘Paradigm’, the dramatic finale in ‘Don’t Show Your Weakness’ and the soaring harmonic confidence of ‘Love We Make’.
While this reverberant space helps establish the album’s sound-world, at times it appears to clash with an overabundance of sonic elements. Tracks like ‘Virginia (Wind In The Night)’, a seemingly gentrified country anthem that perhaps ironically represents its subject matter, and the explosive pop ballad ‘Tiebreaker’ represent a general over-production across the board that often buries lyrical intent.
By this token, the more considered, minimally arranged inclusions on the record are where the band really shine, from the soft falsetto and poignant optimism of ‘Same Hurt’ to the refreshing heart-on-sleeve vocal delivery and lyrical humanity of ‘Love Me Still’.
Its runtime is of course an impressive feat that nods towards the band’s prolificism, but it is perhaps unclear as to whether all inclusions were necessary for the record. The faux-prophetic ‘what if’s of ‘Shut Up’ come across as a banal and ultimately unhelpful attempt to inject a meaningful position into the music, and while ‘Family Man’ aims at resonating with its subject matter, the composition feels too dialed-in to establish a connection.
It is plain to see The Head and The Heart’s successes in capturing the hearts and minds of mainstream indie folk audiences in the US, and while elements of ‘Every Shade of Blue’ may struggle to cut through its over-ambitious production value, the album is bound to translate well on the big stage regardless. And with a North American tour to follow, including a sold-out show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, US audiences have a great deal to look forward to.
5/10
Words: Kieran Macdonald-Brown
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