American indie folk band The Head and The Heart never fails to impress us today, especially after the release of their new album for May 17, Living Mirage.
This Seattle-originated band started off from meeting up in open-mic nights. All of the members of the band pursued their own dreams and then came together to pursue it in music. As their band name says, they use their head to make their life decisions but follow their heart for what they truly want.
Living Mirage is by far their poppiest album, so this album review will go over the gritty details included in the actual album itself and what it demonstrates. It represents what they were before progressing to what they are now, and it does this in through catchy lyrics and classic melodies known from The Head and The Heart.
In no particular order, this album review will feature the top songs featured in the album, Living Mirage.
1. “See You Through My Eyes”
This, by far, is the catchiest song on the album. This song opens up a brand new style for The Head and The Heart. Although it sounds so different, almost like it is not even the band themselves, the song still resonates the growth and progression of the band through music culture. This band dwelled within the music industry and improved themselves based on popular influences, as seen primarily through the chorus using various harmonies and vocal parts, catchy lyrics, and emphasis on the bass and drums. The drummer, Tyler Williams, even notes that there are high-hats that were never used in their music before.
2. “People Need A Melody”
Before the band was formed, these individuals all had starring futures ahead of them. These band members met in an open-mic night in Seattle, and since then, there have been many progressions made in each individual life. Throughout hardships and hopelessness, The Head and The Heart pursues success consistently and achieves it through its indie-folk music. Upon reaching success, the band members had each given up their education and their life’s progression to live in music, which was the melody that had led to their call for a change in life. Therefore, this song represents the need of music and dreams to keep one going through hardships, and the advances in musical technique also represent the growth in musical ability.
3. “Saving Grace”
The beginning piano and vocal part in this song show the nakedness of the band’s emotion put into the song. The song continues with the lead singer playing guitar throughout the verses; being that this band is usually not known for incorporating any emphasis on guitar, the song was a shocker to feature a similar sound to past music yet a progression in musical ability. This song also represents the need to live in the now and find what means truest in your heart, which is something that each band member had struggled to find.
4. “I Found Out”
The start of the song catches attention instantly with the group harmonies and single vocals. The chorus is very catchy and demonstrates their influence from pop culture. The solo vocals represent individual thought while the harmonies demonstrate logistics and cautiousness in the world around them. Besides the meaning of love incorporated in the song, the song itself tries to embody love through the usage of the violin, which the band had only recently included since the violin is known as a love instrument.
5. “Living Mirage”
The album-titled song is a true embodiment of the album itself. Through the guitar intro, The Head and The Heart demonstrates their progression in music since they have never been known to be a guitar-emphasized band. Along with this, this is the longest song on the album since it holds the most weight of the band. It’s complexity with a fast and a slow pace represents the band’s journey and attempts to visualize for the listener the living mirage itself – to envision the altered mindset of consciousness that each person attains throughout life.
As shown in the album review, the top songs all prove to be essential to depicting the band’s growth. This band’s spiritual attempt at showing a differing outlook in their lives shows the brilliance in development since the beginning. From humble beginnings, The Head and The Heart continues to inspire many artists and relates to a general audience by leveling with them. Through the incorporation of popular techniques in music, the band shows an evolution from simple indie-folk rock to becoming a popular influence.
“Missed Connection” was the released single most raved about from the album, so it had to be included in this album review. Though it was not on the top list as per the album review, it is a special song to set aside because of the development shown from the song itself. This song is meant to mirror the origin story of meeting at the Seattle open-mic night. Overall, the song is reflective of the band’s lost connection to important people in their lives, including band member Josiah Johnson, and to the lives they had used to live.
The Head and The Heart is now soaring in the pop scene from its release of Living Mirage, especially since it follows the 2016 Signs of Light album that had includes a Billboard number one single, “All We Ever Knew.” They are now on tour for this album and pursue their career within the band’s evolution of musical change.
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