the low anthem

With my turn in the Friday Mix Tape rotation serendipitously coinciding with me dropping my Top 6 Of The First 6 list yesterday, it seemed only appropriate that I use

With the first six months of 2011 beginning to feel like a distant memory, I figured it was time to continue a tradition by taking a look at my favorite six albums of the first half of the year for the Top 6 Of The First 6…

6) The Head And The Heart – The Head And The Heart

I’ll admit it, I had it in my mind that I wasn’t going to like The Head And The Heart’s self-titled debut, solely based on Bob Boilen of All Songs Considered fame not really being into it. It wasn’t until I caught the band’s exuberant performance of Lost In My Mind on Conan that I was finally ready to embrace the band’s brand of folk-pop, which doesn’t fall too far from the Blind Pilot tree. The Seattle-based act’s album is full of extremely likeable songs that immediately get stuck in your head, bouncy rhythms and lush three-part harmonies that are anchored by lead singer Josiah Johnson and beautifully accompanied by on the high end by Jonathan Russell and Charity Rose Thielen’s sultry, smoky vocals.

READ ON for the rest of Jeff’s Top 6 Of The First 6…