Album: The Head And The HeartThe Head And The Heart (Heavenly)

The Head And The Heart are the West Coast equivalent of Mumford & Sons, whiskery inheritors of folk tradition.

Perhaps they suffer from a similar difficulty in transferring their onstage ebullience to the studio. The UK edition of their debut has three extra tracks recorded in a church, which damps things even further. But there is still much to enjoy here: Josiah Johnson's vocals have an introvert fragility akin to Sufjan Stevens on "Down In The Valley" and a Brubeckian tempo and wordless falsetto refrain lend a curious charm to "Ghosts". "One day we'll all be ghosts, tripping about other peoples' homes," sings Johnson, cheerily, in one of the moments when he lets his chipper spirit get the better of his introspective inclinations.

DOWNLOAD THIS: Ghosts; Down In The Valley; Honey Come Home; Winter Song