Photo Credit: Owen Ela
With a career spanning over fifteen years, American indie-folk darlings The Head and The Heart return to self with the release of their latest sixth studio album, Aperture. Thrown into the spotlight overnight from the success of their debut self-titled album back in 2011, the band has weathered line-up changes and label shifts throughout the years. Returning to their roots of self-production with a renewed sense of purpose, Aperture finds members Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar), Matt Gervais (guitar, vocals), Charity Rose Thielen (guitar, strings, vocals), Tyler Williams (percussion), Kenny Hensely (piano) and Chris Zasche (bass) open a new chapter that feels both intimate and expansive, navigating the fine line between grief, love and connection and all the nuances in between.
mxdwn had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with member Tyler Williams as they prepare for their upcoming tour to discuss all things Aperture and how it has brought The Head and The Heart closer than ever before.
mxdwn: Hello, my name is Riley Wilkerson and I’m a music features writer here at mxdwn. Today I am joined with Tyler Williams from The Head and The Heart. How are you today, Tyler?
Tyler Williams: I’m good. How are you doing?
mxdwn: I’m doing great, thanks for asking. I’ll just go ahead and jump right into it – you all have recently released your latest album Aperture on May 9th, congratulations!
TW: Thanks so much. It feels great to finally have it out there.
mxdwn: Yeah I bet, I saw you all have been working on it since 2023. That’s a long while to be sitting on it and waiting for the world to be able to hear it.
TW: It’s funny, there’s always this little bit of downtime when you finish the record before you can actually put it out, and it’s super busy because you’re focusing on getting the artwork right or getting the videos right, everything around the music. You sort of detach from the music for a minute. Now, when it gets out into the world you can listen to it and listen through the audience’s ears, which is such a great perspective. It’s my favorite part of putting out a record.
mxdwn: That’s so cool. I’ve never thought about it like that, how you get to listen to it as an audience member does and can feel that detachment. Especially because when you’re actively working on the album you can get so caught up in technicalities of it that you can miss out on the experience of listening to it as a whole, so that’s really great.
TW: Yeah for sure. This is the first time where I feel like I’ve detached and then come back to this record and been like, “Wow, I would listen to this if any band put this out.” It’s probably my favorite record we’ve done so far.
mxdwn: That’s great. It’s an awesome record. It’s a great accumulation of everything you guys have put out over the years just perfected into one. I really love it.
TW: Aw, thank you so much.
mxdwn: Of course! I do have a question about the title itself. I didn’t know what an aperture was, in photography terms and I had to look it up. Knowing what it is now, how did you all arrive at picking this for the title and naming the whole album after that twelfth and final track? At this term for the metaphor for the entire album?
TW: There’s multiple explanations to it, just like so many other things in the world. I guess the way that it started was we were just playing around, jamming in a room together, which we never really do. It was at the studio here, it was one of our last sessions for the record and Kenny had this piano melody that was a full song already ready to go. We all just sat down and started adding our own parts along to it. It was super spontaneous, kind of a lot like how this record was made. But Matty took that sort of demo home with him, it didn’t have lyrics, didn’t have vocal melodies and he came up with this beautiful story that sums up the creation of this record and quite possibly the last fifteen years of this band. It really felt like the culmination of all the work that we’ve done into one song. He had this great line about “We finally learned to open up the aperture” and it was so appropriate for the time that we find ourselves in as a band and where we are. It just felt like it summed it up and should be the title for the record. Beyond that, there’s so many different things with the word aperture. With the camera, it’s the feature on a camera that allows the film to be exposed to light. I think we also live in these really strange times where there’s darkness everywhere you turn, especially if you’re online perpetually. I think we were trying to focus a little bit on things like, “Yeah, these are dark times but how are we going to get through it?” I think it’s also about letting the light in that way.
mxdwn: Definitely. Especially with a lot of the lyrics and themes in the album, it’s expressing and letting yourself feel those feelings of grief and deep emotions but not letting them overshadow and instead letting the moments of joy, hope and connection with others come through. Those moments and feelings really do shine through and I think that is such a perfectly fitting metaphor for the entire album.
TW: I’m glad that it comes off that way because that’s definitely how we feel about it in our hearts.
mxdwn: So you would say those moments when you were just jamming with your bandmates is what unlocked the whole direction of this album for you all?
TW: Well interestingly, “Aperture” was one of the latter songs we had recorded but the whole record up to that point had been very spontaneous. I think we were at this moment of just allowing the music to channel through us a bit. I know it sounds cheesy but I think that is really a metaphor for this album. The creation was so spontaneous. “Cop Car” is a great example where we literally played that song once. We never talked about what the structure was, we never talked about the chords, we just played it. Once it was recorded John went into the booth and ad-libbed some vocals, the rest of us hopped on some vocals as well. It was my first time taking lead vocals, ever. That song was done in four hours. I think “Jubilee” is another example. Just moving with the creative spirit on this record instead of trying to control it. I think that was something we learned like, “Let’s just see where this goes.”A lot of that was self producing. We’ve worked with a producer on the last three records and it just felt like it was time to get back to doing our own thing and listening to ourselves.
mxdwn: I actually have a question about you taking lead vocals on “Cop Car,” is that something you can see yourself continuing in the future now that you’ve tried it out on “Cop Car?”
TW: I only sang on the bridge, so maybe I’ll be a feature {laughs}. Who knows? We’ll see. I can’t see myself turning into Ringo or Dave Grohl yet but who knows?
mxdwn: {laughs} Keyword yet.
TW: Exactly {laughs).
mxdwn: This ability to switch around and try new things all speak to your ability to work together as a group and that collaborative spirit, being able to let out parts of yourself that weren’t blocked, just maybe not explored yet. Things can also be more contained when working with a producer as compared to just you all there and in the moment. The channeling you mentioned earlier, I don’t think it’s cheesy at all. It’s that idea of a “flow state” and what can happen when you’re just really present in the moment.
TW: That’s such an accurate description of where we were on this record. I think “Arrow” was the only song that had come pre-structured, John had already been working on it for a while. The rest of them, just like you said, it was a flow state and they just kinda came out of us. We’ve never really made a record in that way so it was exciting. I think it’s really a template for the future for us as well.
mxdwn: I love to hear that, especially considering how much of a feat this album is. I can’t wait to see what else is to come.
TW: I know it feels weird to say, now that we’re on our sixth record, but it feels like we are finally hitting our stride. I think we had some setbacks in the past and tragic stuff that we all had to go and do some healing over and then come back together. This is the first record where it feels like all six of us were on the same page, firing on all cylinders in a long time. It’s cool.
mxdwn: I love that. A band is a living organism and those go through ups and downs. I feel like it’s a testament to you all as a band but also individuals, especially having been in the industry for so long, being able to evolve to where you feel secure enough in each other to be making the music that you want to be making and that really speaks to your soul. That’s really beautiful.
TW: Yeah for sure. When we came out we were so green. We made the first record for five thousand dollars, money that we all pooled together and we never expected for it to sell a million copies or however many it’s sold. We came out with such naivety and innocence to us that when we started getting critiqued we were just like, “Oh no! What do we do now?” It took us a while to be secure in who we are as a band and what we do. Not listening to critics or Instagram comments, whatever it is, is important to us. I think it just took us a while to lean into what The Head and The Heart is and who we are as people. That’s really where our art comes from anyways.
mxdwn: Totally. I mean, you all were also so young when it all started. I feel like part of it is just growing up in general and figuring out who you want to be and making music that represents who you are, truly.
TW: The funny thing is I think that first record was a great example of who we were then, without any self-consciousness or too much self-awareness. It really feels like we’re back at that place with nothing to lose.
mxdwn: That’s wonderful to hear. We spoke a little bit earlier about this album being self-produced but I also noticed that it was recorded in person between your hometowns of Seattle and Richmond, Virginia, very different from Every Shade of Blue, which was recorded separately in isolation. What was the reason for returning to your hometowns to record Aperture and do you think this element added anything that maybe wouldn’t be there otherwise?
TW: Yeah absolutely. John and I live in Richmond, we moved back. He lives on the south side and I’m on the north side. We kind of got back to that familial unit we had on the first record, where everyone was living and eating together, sleeping in rooms right next to each other. There’s this bond, almost like an osmosis, when you live with a creative partner where you get on the same wavelength without really intentionally trying. So having everyone at my house, and the studio was literally a hundred yards across my road, was great. We would walk over there in the morning after having some coffee and get to work without a lot of pressure because it wasn’t super expensive. {laughs} During the Warner years they can rack up a budget almost like a wedding does. So it was intentional on our part to be like, “Let’s just go make a record like we would make a record if we were never signed to a label.” That was really our goal with this album.
mxdwn: It’s like a bridge bringing you back to your roots and really to the integrity of the band. Almost like, “If we only had each other, what can we do?”
TW: Exactly right. We had the same philosophy when we went out to Seattle to work. We did about half the record out there and we ended up working at Litho where we did our first two records and with the same engineer. It wasn’t so much of us saying “Hey, let’s return to our roots,” more of, “Hey, let’s just become a band again” without the pretension, without the producers or outside influence. The best way we could do that was splitting our time between the two coasts.
mxdwn: I was gonna ask as a fellow Richmonder myself, I didn’t grow up here but I moved here a few years ago, but I have found the city to be super inspiring especially musically. Is there anything about the city itself that inspires you?
TW: Oh really! Woah, that’s cool. I love the authenticity here. The grit, the drive of people to create something unique and support the community around it. There’s an incredible art gallery called Gallery5 that’s just been such an incubator for music in the community. The food scene is good, the art scene is good and it’s somewhat affordable. I should probably shut up before everybody moves here {laughs}.
mxdwn: {laughing} When I first moved here someone sent me a funny post talking about how Richmond was defined as “the last place to actually be able to support being in a band while working.”
TW: {laughs} I totally feel that.
mxdwn: It’s also so special about the city that it seems everyone does something creative. They all are musicians, painters or artists and it’s just so inspiring to be around that.
TW: I think VCU is such a good incubator for the arts here. Then you have RVA Mag and so many great writers who support and promote what’s happening here. I think we’re lucky to live here for sure.
mxdwn: You’re right, we should gatekeep Richmond.
TW: {laughing} Yeah, edit that part out.
mxdwn: Switching gears a bit to talk more about the production part of Aperture, not having so much of the production bells and whistles. You all mentioned wanting Aperture to “leave room for imperfection.” Could you elaborate on that? What does that mean to you all to have that space and how does it help to propel you forward creatively?
TW: I think when you’re making a record you get caught up in the idea of making the perfect album. When you’re in the studio that can translate into overdubbing stuff or doubling or tripling vocals, just adding things and almost taking away the human elements of it. A lot of my favorite records, they’ll leave mistakes all over it and those mistakes create the vibe of the record and they create the personality that you feel when you listen and you go back for that feeling. With the producers we worked with it was always like, “Hey, let’s get that perfect take.” On this one we were just like, “If it feels good, if it moves and it swings and we’re happy with it then that’s all that matters. It doesn’t have to be technically perfect. In fact, maybe the technical perfection is ruining some of the charm of it.” I think we really just wanted to keep the freshness and the liveliness of first, second takes and just leave everything in there. Don’t do overdubs, don’t double vocals. Take the effects off. Take the reverb off. Let’s just see what happens.
mxdwn: When I was listening there were moments where I could hear those background sounds and I also really love that. It just adds to the ambiance and you’re right that it really brings that human feeling.
TW: For sure. “Cop Car” is a great example of that where at the end of the song we didn’t know what we were doing, we were just standing around a mic, all of us singing “This Little Light of Mine” We were just like, “This is ridiculous, but it feels so good.”. John’s laughing, Chris is talking to Kenny and I’m playing the tambourine pretty sloppily but it was beautiful at the moment. When we listened back it was like, “Man, I’m feeling spiritualized.” It’s this really dark story but then the end ties in that spiritual element and it really feels like redemption. It really just got us fired up.
mxdwn: Wow, that’s one of my favorite tracks, and moments, off the whole album.
TW: That’s awesome.
mxdwn: While we’re talking about that memory of you all around the mic together, you all have been together in a band for over a decade. Having solidified yourselves in the world of indie-folk rock, how do you all keep going not only as a team, but as individual artists? Are there any non-musical traits that are just as important as artistic compatibility that keeps you all together and working as strong as you do?
TW: I think it’s just a general belief in what we are as a unit. There’s really the belief that we are greater than the sum of our parts and the belief that we’re better together is what keeps us going. Also the fact that we still feel like the underdogs, we’re scrapping, we’re making music that we believe in one hundred percent and we’re going to keep doing that whether anyone is listening or not because it’s just a way for us to express what’s inside of us in a way that’s not destructive or harmful. It’s really like, “Let’s go lift up the world and do it through the collective creation that we found together.”
mxdwn: Exactly. I also feel like that is how you all have kept such a loyal fanbase throughout the years too, because it really connects with them emotionally. One thing I’ve noticed is a lot of people who connect with your music find that it really helps them through a lot of dark or transitory periods of their lives.
TW: That’s cool to hear and it feels good to us to know that. We’ll keep going, especially as long as people want, but we’d keep going even if there wasn’t. We’re here forever.
mxdwn: We talked a bit earlier about you hopping on vocals for the first time, but I also saw how you all stated that this is the first time every member of the band had a hand in the songwriting process as well. What was that like?
TW: We’ve kind of always all had a hand in songwriting but this time it was more from the creation point of each song. It hadn’t been as easy before, we weren’t on the same page or firing together at the same time. This album was the first where we were really starting from scratch every day and seeing what would come out of us. It was an improvisational skill, almost like jazz, but it wasn’t jazz, but that’s what this band does.
mxdwn: I love that jazz metaphor too because it’s also all about what each person brings individually and how that works with everyone else there too.
TW: Yeah it was like we were having a conversation in music with each other in real time. We’d go back and forth with each other and be like, “That part is great but let’s fix this.” It was really just in the moment.
mxdwn: Did you guys face any challenges approaching it this way?
TW: There’s always stuff that everyone has to overcome together in this band with six personalities. There’s always something going on. It was really Matty’s time to shine on this album, which was amazing to witness. He came on during the Signs of Light tour after Josiah departed due to his addiction and I think he had a pretty tough road connecting with people who loved Josiah so much. I think he had a hard time finding his place as a songwriter but on this album he just let go of any of that baggage and just hit a bunch of homeruns. It was awesome to see him evolve his writing and work ethic to really be a leader in the band. It was really cool to witness. I think that was the big breakthrough for this album.
mxdwn: That really translated on the album from the listener’s side of things. It was really just the core of what people think when they hear The Head and The Heart. It’s almost like in doing something novel you came full circle and back to the start.
TW: Yeah, we aren’t chasing anymore. On some of the last few records there was a lot of pressure to have a big song or a high charting album, something like that. On Aperture we just got rid of the expectations, were just ourselves and I think we were tired of feeling like we were always being pushed into a different direction whether willingly or unwillingly. I think we were just like, “Let’s just do what we do.” Honestly, that did require a new way of working. So yeah, I think we broke through a lot of hard stuff on this album as we were making it.
mxdwn: I can see that. Six people is not an easy number of people to get them all together and on the same page.
TW: Somehow we keep finding a way to do that though it does take work. We actually do a lot of group therapy together just because you never want to let resentments go unchecked or if there is a fight, having someone there to mediate any tension or anything is helpful. It’s just such a healthy way to communicate together and we love doing that as a band.
mxdwn: I love to hear that because bands are almost like living organisms that take effort to maintain.
TW: Absolutely. Charity was a big believer in that idea and it took everyone else a little bit of time to come around to it but I think once you start doing it you realize how there’s a more ethical way of working together. Instead of being reactionary, let’s treat each other in a positive way from the start and get off on a good foot each time. I think it’s really changed who we are as people individually and I’m sure our families can all see and feel it as well. It’s just weird, like we always grow together as a band when we’re challenged. It’s almost like a test to make us all better people individually through this band.
mxdwn: Hopefully some other bands are able to hear this and take inspiration from it, especially if they’re struggling with the dynamics that come with working together for so many years.
TW: Talking about Oasis? The Gallagher brothers {laughs}?
mxdwn: {laughing} Yeah I think that advice could be useful to them.
TW: It’s not happening {laughs).
mxdwn: I do just have one more question for you today. You all are going into rehearsals next week for your upcoming tour and I saw in an interview with Rolling Stone how you all said you would like this tour to be reminiscent of the intimacy of shows in your early days. Is there anything in particular you are doing to bring that feeling center stage this tour?
TW: We’re just kind of getting back to a more “in the moment” approach to playing music for people. We’ve been so focused in our live shows on creating really high energy and making moments really impactful. Now we’re just like, “Let’s lean into more nuance, detail and to let some mystery be there and just let things develop. That’s more interesting than just that go go go type of momentum.
mxdwn: Yeah, just finding those quiet moments and getting into that flow state that we talked about earlier.
TW: Yeah, absolutely.
