Customer Ratings & Reviews

I’ve been a huge fan of The Head and the Heart since 2011, their folksy sound and instrumental work was warm, soulful, just amazing. Album #2 continued that trend. Starting with album #3, their previous work, the turn to a more “poppy” sound was evident, as long-time front man Josiah Johnson left the band, and the band signed with a more mainstream label (Warner Music). Maybe it’s not the band’s fault, maybe the pressure of hitting album release deadlines by a major label meant less time to write lyrics, less time to flesh out the sound, or maybe, with a lack of access to Josiah’s writing, the band lost its “soul”. Regardless of the reasons why, album #4 has almost no contribution by Josiah, but there is a much larger presence by (band member) Charity Rose. Her writing and singing is on full display, and not in a good way. Charity is an amazing violin player, but her voice is a very love-it-or-hate-it thing, and although I never hated it, it is an acquired taste, best left in small doses. Unfortunately for me, her mushy-mouth style of singing is now very popular, courtesy of artists like Bebe-Rexha, Billie Eilish, Kay Flay, and others, who think singing like a baby is a good thing. It’s also a heavily-enhanced voice, compare Charity’s voice on album #4 to any previous one, and you can tell that a lot of studio magic was done to make it sound as it does. So, Charity’s prominent voice, some odd (and sometimes plain dumb, “I need a dog”...give me a break) lyrical choices, and the choice to move into mainstream pop sounds makes this album incredibly generic, and disappointing, for any lifelong The Head and The Heart fan. If you love mainstream pop, buy this. If you actually enjoy this band, skip this and go listen to some “Josh McBride”, THATH circa 2013.

Great record and price. Can’t to see them live for the first time.