Before I dive into in this, I wanted to start out by saying thank you to those of you who have taken the time to read my pieces either from Shaken Not Stirred or Jazz Up Your Day from last semester. Prior to joining WVAU, I had no prior experience in creative, personal writing and so having even the tiniest readership means quite a bit. I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I look forward to what this blog has in store for me in the fall.

With that, I wanted to bring your attention to an incredible, live performance I recently found by a band called The Head and the Heart. Now, before any of you roll your eyes and open a new tab to Facebook or BuzzFeed, please hear me out. I‰’ll admit, I am not the biggest Head and the Heart fan. Certainly, their recorded music is catchy in that folky-rock, borderline country way. However, like a lot of groups jumping on this soon-to-be mainstream bandwagon, the Head and the Heart, in my opinion, sound like every other wannabe Lumineers or Mumford and Sons band, incorporating violins and banjos into the mix of acoustic guitar and ragtime-esque piano.

The Head and the Heart‰’s live performance on Seattle‰’s KEXP radio of their song, “Honey Come Home‰Û, however, pleasantly surprised me on so many levels. To begin, and perhaps the most important reason for my obsession with this video, is the incredible execution of both major and minor harmonies throughout the song. Although I am not a singer, I imagine that attempting to keep harmonies in sync and accurately stacked throughout a song is incredibly difficult. The Head and the Heart, for no other reason than being comprised of talented musicians, manages to hit every harmonious chord on point, every time.

The harmonies begin with female member, Charity Rose Thielen, joining lead singer Josiah Johnson in a strangely beautiful chord that, I believe, is neither major nor minor. Nevertheless, the chord indicates an obvious need for vocal talent, which both Thielen and Johnson luckily have and perform well. The song continues with band member, Jonathan Russell, joining in on a three-part harmony verse that, somehow, emits musical rays of emotion from computer to ears. Most of the chords in the song follow the pretty classic folky, indie rock style; however, something about the way the voices of The Head and the Heart‰’s members connect ultimately creates a unique, emotional sound.

Although, as a whole, this live version of “Honey Come Home‰” keeps the listener engaged and intrigued, the most magnificent part of this performance does not come until the end of the performance when all three performers deliver the line, “Just wanna die with the one I love‰Û, in spectacular three part harmony that moves up four octaves by the end of the verse. If you aren‰’t converted to the song prior to this, you most certainly will after hearing this vocally powerful, near perfect section of the song. With chills running down your spine and the hair on your neck sticking up perfectly straight, you may also feel yourself, like I do, more inclined to listen to The Head and the Heart with an open, more respectful mind of the obvious talent and passion they bring to their music.