On the heels of the announcement last week of a much anticipated new album by indie folk band The Head and the Heart, I’m excited to be able to share the following conversation with the band’s Matty Gervais. This is one of your first chances to hear more about their exceptional new collection of tunes, Aperture, the band’s sixth LP, which will be out on May 9th. There are already a few beautiful introductory singles online now, including the anthemic "Arrow" and the newly shared album opener, "After The Setting Sun."

It was a pleasure to connect over zoom with Matty to talk about the making of Aperture and how it heralds a new chapter of freedom and collaboration for THATH. We also talk about some earlier THATH history, how they have benefited in more recent years from band therapy, and his own personal creative process for this new album. And of course we start by delving into Matty’s early life experiences with music, growing up in Seattle during the grunge explosion, falling in love with recording his songs using a boombox technique he heard Dave Grohl describe in an interview, playing in bands with his brother and eventually joining THATH more than a decade ago. You can pre-order or pre-save Aperture, and get tickets for their upcoming shows HERE!

Preview:

3:30 - 13:00 - Early life experiences with music, learning to play drums, growing up during grunge, going to Bumbershoot with his parents, getting into Posies, Fastbacks, Supersuckers, The Presidents of the United States of America and other local bands

13:20 - 21:00 - Writing and recording his own songs using Dave Grohl’s boombox technique, developing his sound, playing in various bands leading up to joining THATH

21:15 - 31:00 - Observing THATH as a fan, joining the band, adapting to their fame:

31:00 - 34:00 - Band therapy and its benefits

35:15 - 40:00 - Aperture, how it started and the writing and recording processes that arose from there

40:30 - 49:00 - "Forest Bath": Walking through the woods writing melodies and lyrics; the inspiration for “After The Setting Sun”