As the band reassembled in the post-COVID era, they also reconnected to parts of themselves that had been long overdue. Aperture feels like an awakening and a liberation. It evokes a deep feeling of community, mesmerized by its contagious campfire vibe.
The Head and The Heart is gearing up for a new album, Aperture, scheduled to drop on May 9, which will mark their first album since Every Shade of Blue in 2022. Consisting of 12 tracks, with four of them already released, the album’s openers offer a teaser preview of what’s in store, with the release date drawing close.
From “After The Setting Sun” to the most recently released, “Blue Embers,” the songs (currently released) in the new album are versatile as they will seamlessly fit into almost any social situation. It feels like a reunion and a gathering, but instead of being a party that’s about seeking highs, Aperture sets the stage for meaningful talks and genuine laughter. Matt Gervais described the band as a “six-way marriage,” where sounds were captured live and in their most authentic forms. Being present and living in the moment with each other are in the DNA of this album. It creates a very powerful constant, almost like a harbor that can survive the worst storm.
Press Q&A with The Head and The Heart
Q: Can you share a moment during the making of this album where that theme felt especially personal to you?
Matt Gervais: You can hear, like, all kinds of mistakes and bleed on everything, and there’s just so much, like, very real, very live, very in the moment captured stuff that’s on this record. When you enter into a band you’re entering into— depending on how many people, in this band it’s six— you’re entering into a six way marriage,
Q: “Cop Car” is described as an explosive track. What inspired it, and how did it come together?
Jon Russell: It was a stream of consciousness and grappling with choices you’ve made, and how that’s affecting people around you.
Q: As a concert photographer, I often hear the word “aperture” used to refer to the opening in the lens that light passes through, but I am intrigued that you are using that word as the title of your upcoming album. What does Aperture as the title of your next record mean to you, and what was your thought process in choosing that name?
Tyler Williams: Throughout the whole album, it’s just it’s kind of an idea of getting back together and of widening the perspective of what these six people can accomplish together and it’s sort of a journey between light and dark and trying to let the light in.
Q: How has your collaborative process changed over the years?
Gervais: It’s the first [album] we made since coming back from the pandemic and sort of this period of darkness- individually, emotionally, and sort of on a global scale. And that applied throughout periods of the band’s history and our own personal relationships. There’s this ebb and flow of connectivity and openness. So, coming out of the pandemic was the big eye opener about what our whole role in life is, and what we do as artists and as a band and touring and having that communication with folks who are coming to see our shows.
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Charity Rose Thielen: Just to tie all of this in, though, the rebirth, like, really springtime and, like the newness and, like seeing little bulbs start to shoot up and then bloom and, you know, cherry blossoms start to just be on fire. It’s like, you know, that is so much like this band, this record, specifically, though. You know, we almost called this “The Head and the Heart 2,” like it is the rebirth of this band. And I think there’s so much hope in death and life
Q: In the song “Time With My Sins” it describes wanting to be close to someone and learning to let your guard down in order to really get to know someone. In what ways as a band have you had to let your guard down and lean on one another? Does that vulnerability show up during the process of creating and album together?
Russell: I started that song like that first verse, many years ago, and was almost too ashamed to like, truly take it head on and talk to anybody about what I was going through, to like, have the awareness of the bigger picture, to like, get out of it. And fortunately, Matty came stepped up and was like, hey, I really love what you started. Do you mind if I take it from here and try and build it out and see where it leads, which you know to your point. It’s like, if you don’t let your guard down, and you don’t feel like you can trust somebody enough to be honest about where you’re at, whether it’s your highs or your lows, like you really can’t continue things.
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