My Flesh Heart is a 2-piece band out of Miami, Florida that seems to be going places. In fact, they recently returned from Nashville, Tennessee after recording their new self-titled 4 song EP with Matt Odmark of the Grammy winning band Jars Of Clay. They used a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to make this important trip for their career.
Ben Cardenas is the main songwriter and soulful heart behind the band. His songs attempt to appeal to a large range of emotions and he is able to do that while keeping the songs catchy and upbeat. It is obvious he is unafraid to wear his ‘flesh heart’ on his sleeve.
The first song, Just Give Up opens with an interesting synth drumbeat before Ben breaks into his heartfelt vocals. A good song where you actually want to focus on the catchy, yet haunting lyrics. It does cut a little short at the end, but that only left me yearning for more.
The highlight of the album for me was A Simple Seed. The chorus is catchy and very simple to get stuck in your head. My Flesh Heart show their song writing chops in the bridge of this song experimenting with some interesting drum machine sounds and vocal effects. This is a song that I am sure gets sung back to them at every live show.
Ask Me Why is a southern guitar influenced love song that explains how easy it is to be in love with the right person. Not my favorite, but not a bad song if you are in the mood for that kind of thing.
You can hear the Jars Of Clay influence throughout the EP and the promise of even more if they continue to work with Matt Odmark as producer. My Flesh Heart has a little while to go but if they keep moving forward at this pace they will make a nice career for themselves before too long.
Find the My Flesh Heart EP at:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/my-flesh-heart-ep-ep/id527052301
Also check them out on their social networks at:
business daily
The Head and the Heart (April 19, 2010) 4 Mark Deming Less than two years after they first came together, the Head and the Heart have become one of the most popular bands in their hometown of Seattle, Washington, and a listen to their self-titled debut album makes it clear why: they’re very good, and almost startlingly accomplished for a handful of twenty-somethings who initially recorded and released this album on their own dime a year before it was given an expanded and refurbished re-release by Sub Pop. Vocalists, guitarists, and songwriters Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell provide the strongest draw on The Head and the Heart with their crisp but homey harmonies and melodies that find a middle ground between ‘70s folk-rock and British Invasion-era pop, and they get an invaluable assist from pianist Kenny Hensley, whose keyboard lines add plenty of tuneful energy to the performances. Charity Rose Thielen’s fiddle and vocals add warmth and texture to the music, and bassist Chris Zasche and drummer Tyler Williams are an ideal rhythm section for this band, solid and capable of adding color without muddying the details of the picture. the Head and the Heart play beautifully as an ensemble, and the push and pull of the dynamics sounds rich and satisfying, while the songs are smart as they are catchy, reflecting a lyrical maturity that suggests a post-millennial version of the Band or the Jayhawks. There are plenty of bands who literally spend a decade working up to an album as well-crafted, confident, and powerful as the Head and the Heart, and these folks managed to knock it out in a bit over a year; is they can make this particular bit of lightning strike twice, we may be looking at one of America’s best new bands.