Heartwood is a four piece LA-based alternative/indie/rock band that is influenced by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, the Arctic Monkeys, and Green Day.  On a mission to bring rock and roll back to the forefront of the music industry, the band puts their own unique spin on rock and roll by fusing pop-oriented hooks with creative soundscaping and in-your-face trombone solos.

For the past year, Heartwood has been recording their first batch of well-crafted music.  They will be releasing a 7″ series comprised of 5 pairings of A-side and B-side singles, the first of which, “Smoke-Ring Day/Welcome Home”, was just released on March 23rd.  Heartwood’s music is completely organic having been created, written, and recorded solely by the four band members, so the band’s originality really shines through; additionally, I think the band’s decision in releasing their music in a 7″ series speaks volumes about their individuality as well.

In their first release, “Smoke-Ring Day/Welcome Home”, both singles kick off Heartwood’s 7″ series with a strong start.  “Smoke-Ring Day” features solid vocals and evident traces of jazz that you can’t help but notice throughout the song.  “Welcome Home” is equally as unique as “Smoke-Ring Day”, but it features less jazz undertones as the former.  Though the two singles are stylistically different, they compliment each other perfectly which I think is exactly the point of the band’s 7″ series release.  By pairing two singles together and releasing them at the same time, Heartwood is able to give listeners the opportunity to experience their music in a different way.

I look forward to hearing Heartwood’s next release, but in the mean time you can join me in listening to their first release, “Smoke-Ring Day/Welcome Home”, here!

xx

Danielle