If you, like me, have heard of The Head and the Heart from their two hits “Lost in my Mind” and “Rivers and Roads,” then this latest release from them will be nearly indistinguishable to you (and me). The 13 new tracks sound nothing like the old-country singer-songwriter tunes they used to produce. Signs of Light is reminiscent of Walk off the Earth, the YouTube acapella sensation that became a globe-touring, feel-good indie-pop group. This is the first album that The Head and the Heart have produced since signing with a major label, and it is something more in the realm of marketable than any of the more niche material that they have produced in the past. The indie-pop penetrates every corner of this album. They maintain some of the same elements as their pre-label, foot-stomping, barn-singing days, but much of the spaces between their simple singing and strummings have been filled in with a plethora of electronically produced sounds ranging from drum beats and echoes to the keyboard. The violin peeks out here and there but it is heavily shielded by digital altering that makes it sound something more like a synthesiser. Now there’s nothing wrong with moving onwards and upwards, and the group had no allegiance to their mostly analogue methods of before, but such an odd and sudden shift in genre is sure to be alienating to their fans (and me for sure).
Soundbite: The Head and the Heart
This article was published on September 29, 2016 and may be out of date. To maintain our historical record, The Cascade does not update or remove outdated articles.
