Spring welcomes warmth and renewal, two things central to The Head And The Heart’s new record, Aperture, coming May 9. A rumination on the present and a return to the past, they collectively agreed they haven’t been this excited for an album in a long time. With around 15 years together, five studio albums, and some band therapy under their belt, they’ve gone back to their roots of self-production for the first time since their self-titled debut in 2011. This artistic homecoming provides a certain groundedness that while never lost, feels more kaleidoscopic and true than ever.
Conversation with the band traveled through all sorts of topics – their musical methods, their loved ones, the Rivers and Roads Foundation, the importance of long-form content, and what the near future might have for them as they embark on tour with this album. They joked they’re in a 6-way marriage, but seriously expressed how that actually lends itself to a democratic creative environment. Everyone has a stake in the music and a chance to try something out. Such genuine dynamics made room for both pianist Kenny Hensley and drummer Tyler Williams to sing for the first time on the tracklist, empowering not only themselves, but listeners as well, to embrace change and look towards the good things that are always possible.
Through their own reckonings over the last few years, they’ve found restoration, and have leaned into that fresh and raw energy without inhibitions to make something powerfully optimistic. Founding member Jon Russell explained the project’s title came from the idea that “the more open you are, the more light can come through.” Rather than resign themselves to the cynical and dark parts of the world, this new era for the band acknowledges those realities while actively choosing hope.
Long time fans will be familiar with the group’s use of repetition in their songwriting. Early in their career, the chorus and outro of “Rivers and Roads” is the same line almost 10 times. Whether it be single words or whole phrases, they curiously will say something again, and again, and again. When asked if they remember where this pattern started, and if there’s an intentional thought process behind deciding something is worth repeating, several members were animated in their responses.
Jon shared a story about when a guitar tech he worked with noticed the same thing with the phrase ‘let’s be still’. The other guitarist wondered why Jon kept saying it, and he didn’t really know, only that “it just didn’t seem complete until I said it x amount of times.” He doesn’t think about it in a numerical sense, and doesn’t even count how many times he says something, it’s “just a gut thing”.
It’s also not about if it’s the right thing to do, he clarified, it’s about making a point and letting the words possess one’s spirit. It doesn’t have much meaning “until you [are] truly grabbed by it. And then it elevates the message.” Kenny quipped, “and that’s why we named a song “Let’s Be Still” and an entire album ‘Let’s Be Still’. We had to really drive it home.”
Matty Gervais joined in and talked about when Jon came over to his apartment to play the beginnings of what would become “All We Ever Knew”. There weren’t any other lyrics at the time, but he had been intrigued by the way Jon kept restating that titular term, and that, yes, repetition does elevate emotional meaning; it “allows you to get outside of linear thinking”, and into “something that’s more ceremonial”.
Tyler added that it’s “like a chant”, and that “dance music has the same thing but with rhythm and bass tones. So it’s almost like repetition is the way to enter this other zone, other world in your brain. It’s an easy way to take you out of the mundane.” Jon then spoke again to mention he sees color when listening to and performing music, and with the song “Let’s Be Still”, as an example, he expounded, “I can close my eyes and, sort of like a ladder, the colors just start changing even though it’s the same phrase over and over again.” To him, reiterating something is a deep thing, it’s “almost like a mantra. It’s for you, it’s for your consciousness. It becomes less about the actual lyric in a Jedi mind trick way.”
In the single “Arrow”, there’s reassurance of a “deep, deep feeling”, that gets them to “keep, keep, keep moving on” like the “deep, deep current on the Riverbend”. Each of them is their own arrow, their own home, and “It’s all right, all right / It’s all I’ve ever known” they sing three times in the post-chorus. There’s joy and weariness in another pre-release track, “After The Setting Sun”, where in the post-chorus, they excitedly say, “Here comes the settin’ sun, here comes the settin’ sun” four times, and then in the outro they equally ask, “What comes after the setting sun?”
There’s no doubt in the intimate meaning to be found in the echoing. Though they are not the first musicians to enjoy this literary device, they are the rare ones who do it with tangible purpose; it unfailingly heightens the emotional takeaway of a song.
When the time came for the press conference to end, they graciously offered to stay online for a few extra minutes to answer any remaining questions. From the start of the call, it was clear that their attendance was not a task or chore. It was an eager dialogue, an inviting space for connection, that wasn’t about flexing technical lingo or parroting rehearsed statements. It was a down-to-earth exchange that reflects the unwavering passion that has driven them for over a decade, and will continue to guide them for many more years to come. Like stepping out of winter to see the trees grow green, and feel the heat of the sun on skin, The Head And The Heart are bringing a revival of authenticity through Aperture that will go far beyond the charts and stage.
Pre-save and pre-order the album, and check to see if they’re coming to a city near you on their Aperture Tour!
