Joshua Bartholomew has no problem going where his heart leads him; this is clear on the digital EP that follows up his sprawling double-disc release, And So It Begins. it’s called Heart Headed, and it’s four unabashedly saccharine love songs performed with nary a twinkle of melancholy.

Heart Headed— in its title, brevity, and instant sincerity— strikes me as rather brave. Maybe it’s the concept of a love song in general that seems brave; the idea of being unafraid of vulnerability, of trusting the simple emotions we’ve learned to drown out; it’s walking naked into a rain of arrows. And how to plumb the depths of such an old subject? Tricky.

Despite its naked approach to the subject, when Heart Headed talks about love, it’s got an almost religious appeal to it; it comes with a kind of sweet and assured doggedness; a peaceful zeal– sort of like that of a freshly-infatuated lover. Maybe this lover, he’s got a record of breaking and entering (but that’s all behind me, darling); someone who just wants to walk in front of his love with a basket of rose petals, so that her feet may never be sullied by bare floor. The speaker in these songs has the object of his desire clearly in sight; he is in love, and to him the world is a blissful certainty because of it. He is in a kind of waking dream state, where all things are tender: the heartbeat bass kicks of I Want You (To Want to Be); the aching string arrangements of Wondering When You’ll Come; these songs are righteously smitten, pretty, and pillow-soft. But it’s Strawberry Curl that separates from the pack with a cool, laid-back chorus with a Shins vibe; in this song, the love object is distant. At least she’s got a head start should things get, you know, weird.

I kid. EPs are a tough sell; they’re nice as audience prep-work, a way to share b-sides, and as experiments or stylistic exhibits. Heart Headed is certainly the latter, and another fine example of Bartholomew’s talents— he’s a hell of a vocalist, and a gifted songwriter. He’s not straying from his comfort zone, but that’s okay. If you’re in the mood for a snack-sized helping of modern love songs, Heart Headed definitely fits the occasion.

http://www.joshuabartholomew.com/