The Head and The Heart Share the Stories Behind “Aperture”

The Head and The Heart are ready to unveil themselves using vulnerability and honesty as their tools of choice. I’ve been to my fair share of press conferences, and I can easily say that these musicians are some of the most inspiring, easygoing, and conscious people I’ve gotten the honor to hear speak. It’s obvious how much love was put into their upcoming record Aperture, and they shared that joy with all of us journalists, making each feel valued for being there. That in and of itself says something abut the kind of people they are.

The word ‘aperture’ is often used to refer to the opening in the lens that light passes through, it’s intriguing that you’ve used that as the title of your upcoming album. What does aperture mean as the title of the next record, and what was your thought process on choosing that name?

Tyler Williams: Aperture started because we had this song that Matty had written the lyrics to that really summed up the themes we were creating for this record. Throughout the album, it’s an idea of getting back together and widening the perspective of what six people can accomplish together. It’s a journey between light and dark and all the emotions in between. The idea was trying to let the light in.

John Russell: The more open you are, the more light you can let in. In general that speaks to where we’ve been at lately and allowing ourselves to be more vulnerable around one another.

Matt Gervais: The other thought that occurred to me during the process of this record is that it’s the first record we’ve made since the pandemic, and since that period of darkness emotionally and on a global scale. There’s the ebb and flow of connection and openness. Coming out of the pandemic was the big eye-opener to what our role in life is and what we do as artists. This sort of opening the aperture helps to take a lot of themes in the album and encapsulate them into one concept.

What song from the new album are you most excited to perform live?

TW: We all have different favorites for sure. There’s a song called “Jubilee”… When I was growing up, pop-punk was huge in my life, and to see that sort of have a resurgence right now is awesome to see. We weren’t aiming for that, but somehow “Jubilee” turned into that, and I get to relive playing long with bands that I loved. I’m stoked for people to hear that one live.

Kenny Hensley: For me, there’s a ton of songs, but there’s a song called “West Coast” that I sing on, and I’m not a singer, so even the idea of trying to sing for a recording was one of the most nerve wracking things I can imagine. Even just the thought of performing that song live sends goosebumps down my spine, but it’s also a really exciting idea.

JR: Kenny’s got a great voice.

KH: Thank you John.

Charity Rose Thielen: I would say I’m excited to play the title track “Aperture” just because we haven’t touched it since recording it. It’s so emblamatic of this record and the process behind it, even how we mixed it.

MG: Those are all amazing answers, I’m kind of in the same boat with Charity, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Every time we start a tour on a new record, each song, when you’re playing them live, it helps bring new light to the other songs. It’s a tricky thing, but also a joyfully tricky thing.

JR: One thing that I keep thinking about is, in general, and you can kind of pick it up from everyone’s responses, but when we were making this record it was much more starting from scratch as a group. In the past, especially during the pandemic, we had more time developing our own songs and bringing it to the group. On this record we were all starting together from the very beginning.

In the song “Time With My Sins,” it kind of describes trying to be close to somebody and letting your guard down to get to know them. In what ways as a band have you had to let your guard down and lean on one another, and how does that vulnerability show up in the process of making an album together?

MG: As everyone has mentioned, there’s definitely some highs and lows that come with it. A number of years ago, it became clear that to be able to work through each other’s issues, we needed some format to help that along. We started doing band therapy probably six years ago now with the same person. It’s given us so many tools to work with each other. We can reignite that shared mission we all have.

TW: As it relates to the song, you can kind of see somebody fall or have a hard time, but you don’t have to kick them while they’re down. That’s something you learn from being in relationships with people for so long and not moving on. You learn that it might be better to support that person when they’re having a hard time. It was a big lesson; the only way you can truly be vulnerable is when you trust that you’re safe.

JR: I think that’s why I didn’t have the faculties to finish that song for a long time. I started that first verse many years ago, and was almost too ashamed to talk to anyone about it, to have the awareness of the bigger picture. Matty stepped up and said, I love what you started, can I take it from here and try to build it out? To your point, if you don’t let your guard down and trust someone enough to see where you’re at, you really can’t continue anything.

“Cop Car” is described as an explosive track, what inspired it and how did it come together?

JR: It was during one of our writing sessions in Virginia and we were working on songs. Certain things you offer up freely and without hesitation, creatively speaking. I realized there was something blocking my ability to be fully present and there. There was just something going on in my personal life that I hadn't really told anybody about. We had a bed of music going, and I went into the vocal booth, closed my eyes, and did this sort of stream of consciousness take. I used the imagery of being in a cop car as the through line. You’re driving at night through a city you know, you see the flashing lights, and you’re kind of dwelling on the choices you’ve made and the consequences on the horizon. Grappling with those choices and how that’s affecting people around you.

Looking back on your journey as a band, what’s one piece of advice you’d five to your younger selves when you were first starting out?

TW: For me, it kind of goes back to being able to be vulnerable. I think when you’re starting out in any artistic endeavor, you have to create this wall, this shell around you. You have people who are supporting you, but there’s also people who don’t want you to win. I’ve always had this shell around me that has kept me separated from the pain of rejection from the art that I make. Making this album was destroying that wall and being okay with whatever the result of that was.

JR: There’s a naivety in our first record because you don’t know what it feels like to critique your work in a public forum. We’ve had that happen and continue to make art beyond that, and I’m glad we’ve being doing it long enough to circle back. You try to be clever to protect yourself, but really it gets in the way of truth.

KH: Yeah, if I could speak to my younger self I would tell him to try to soak it all in a little more. Looking back, it’s such a blur, time flew by so quickly. I can’t believe we’ve been a band for coming up on 16 years or so. In the earlier days it was sitting in green rooms all the time, wasting the day, but in recent years it’s been about getting out and seeing the cities I’m in. Not many people get to visit all these cities in the U.S. every other year. Really soaking it in and being appreciative of what we get to do.

CRT: I’d tell myself you don’t need the drink tickets, the allure of alcohol. It never really works out. In order to feel safe enough and have that liquid courage, it’s about finding collaborators that you trust and have shared values with. Who you can be honest enough with to write a connected song.

For any new fans listening to your music for the first time, what song off the new album would you recommend they listen to first to get to know you best?

TW: I would say “Arrow,” I think there was a reason we put that song out first. It really feels like a mission statement of the place that we are right now, but it also has so many elements of a lot of our other records.

MG: I’d say “Time With My Sins” for similar reasons. It’s a song that spans different years of the band’s songwriting and sonic scope while also being representative of where we are right now.

KH: It’s hard to pick one, I’d say “Arrow” so you can hear John’s great vocal performance, and “After the Setting Sun” to hear more Matty and Charity, and then “Cop Car” that’s out there but still us. It covers the wide range of what we’re capable of.

JR: I would challenge that question and say listen to the album. I mean that sort of jokingly, but also, that’s what people used to do. Our parents would go to friend’s house with a vinyl and it would be an actual thing.

TW: Bring that back!

JR: I think they had it right. They’d get together and listen to the album. This album is an experience.

CRT: We need long-form content! Longer the attention span!

MG: And it’s not in the background, you have to sit there and listen to it!

What is your favorite piece of media? It could be a book, an album, a movie, article, and why? Have the themes of that media ever influenced your music process?

JR: I have different formats for different reasons, almost like different genres for different emotions. Like sometimes I’ll start with opera and end with hip-hop, it just depends on how my emotions are going. Usually after writing an album, I’m kind of depleted by my own thoughts and I need a blank page. That’s usually when I go back to reading books. If I ever need a break, I love a podcast. Music, Conan’s, NPR. I have different usages for each of them.

You said that your record is all about hope, what personally gives each of you hope?

TW: We’re coming up on Spring, and Spring gives me hope. The idea of renewal… I look out my window and think, yeah I can do this another year.

KH: I think it’s incredible this whole thing that you’re doing, a bunch of people that are interested in this and wanting to ask questions. Especially the younger people in this group, it gives me hope for the future. You all give me hope.

MG: The baby Head and The Hearts, those are the ones that are driving the hope factory for me for sure. Everyday they’re bringing new life and light to things.