Seattle pop sweethearts The Head and The Heart took to the Main Stage with gusto on Saturday, cherishing their achievement in being asked to play such a notable event. They told the story of how one of them had gotten a backstage pass at Sasquatch! last year, and had sworn he would not take it off until they played the fest themselves. Looking back at the last two years, and the success the band has had on their own, it seemed pretty appropriate they had risen to such a level. I mean, they sold 10,000 copies of their debut album with no record label behind them, and I'd wager their determination was a prime factor in play when Sub Pop decided to sign them this past winter.
Their set was nothing extraordinary or unexpected, but so many of their songs have such a soothing, old-timey feel to them that it sweeps you up into a comfortably gleeful frame of mind. Two essential pieces to the group are members Charity Rose Thielen and Kenny Hensley; the former for her sweet vocals and violin playing, and the latter for his feel-good piano notes. Thielen had an exquisite violin solo during “Down in the Valley,” while Hensley maintained the mood of each song with sometimes soft, and often bold, piano melodies. Judging The Head and The Heart by the exemplary songs they've crafted on their first effort, it seems these six musicians will probably deliver even better work to us in the future.
