Every Shade Of Blue, by The Head And The Heart

If I have never listened to an entire album by group The Head And The Heart, I have at least been familiar with their singles over the past few years, which I have generally liked. In particular, in the run-up to this release, I have played the single “Virginia (Wind In The Night)” quite often, and as that song is on this album, I figured that I would like at least some of what there is to listen to here. As AAA artists and albums typically don’t get a lot of exposure and so I thought this would be a good opportunity to listen to an act I enjoy while also seeking to discover some album cuts and perhaps an artist to explore in more detail. Is it with the effort?

The album begins with the title track, which is a melancholy song about the narrator’s experiences with a sad girl at home. “Tiebreaker” then looks at the question of trying to resolve relationship problems with the need of a tiebreaker to resolve disputes effectively, and it sounds like a future single from this album with its excellent production. “Paradigm” is a rather spare, austere song about the dangers of the night. “Virginia (Wind In The Night)” follows with its melancholy feeling about the past and the memory of it. “Same Hurt” is a lovely song that sees in the shared suffering of humanity something that can draw people together. “Hurts (But It Goes Away)” continues this theme by looking at the hope that one’s pain and suffering is temporary and that things will get better. “Don’t Show Your Weakness” is a more driving mid-tempo song about the issue of self-protective instincts and how they can harm intimacy. “The Love We Make” is a gorgeous ballad about the joy of relationship, another song dealing with intimacy. “Starstruck” is a song about being swept away and caught up in infatuation with a partner. “Love Me Still” offers up a call for another chance given the admission of one’s imperfections in communication. “Shut Up” points to the way that negative communication harms our ability to get along with others, asking for more thinking and reflection. “Family Man” is a reflection of honor and love for his father and a reflection on fatherhood in general. “Taking My Time (Wrong Woman)” is a reflection on the time wasted by bad relationships. “Enemy Lines” keeps up the mood of dealing with other people as if it is dealing with enemies. “Shadows” laments being stuck in the shadows and not able to come out into the light. “GTFU” is a song about encouraging people to get up, an interesting way to close an album that has been for the most part for rather sober and reflective.

Overall, this is a good album. It’s unlikely that this album will light up the charts or sell a lot of copies, but if you’re looking for a mellow album that wrestles with love and relationships and communication, and those are certainly in my own beat s a person, this album has a lot to offer. A lot of the albums are pleasant, with gentle instrumentation and beautiful harmonies, and there are a few standouts that deserve to be listened to in greater detail, especially in the first half of the album or so. This is an album that rewards listen and has some interesting details that allow it to leave an impression of honest people struggling with the difficulties of life and love, and especially the isolation and loneliness that have resulted in the past couple of years. If this album tends to look at the melancholy aspect of life a lot, it begins and ends in a hope of being able to rise above problems and that this is not the end, an appealing prospect and an encouraging one.