The Heart Pills

The Heart Pills!

After hearing demos of Heart Pills songs, in 2009, I knew he needed to record the album. A mere 18 months later, frontman Josh Ingersoll was convinced to take his band into the studio with myself manning the knobs and faders. (and shouting)

The crew included Sara Bodeau on keyboards, accordion and vocals, Silas Thompson on bass guitar, Matthew “lethal rhythm” Haapala on drums and vocals, and “Jingersoll” as you should call him to his face as often as possible on guitar, vocals and filing cabinet full of shit.

The album’s basic tracking was done quickly, with a focus on capturing as much music live in the studio as possible. Many guitar tracks were added after the initial tracking, and featuring the recorded debut of the Dwarfcraft Devices Love Buzz amplifier. The title track, written just hours before the recording, was tracked in one live take, and then embellished further the same night.

The “second guitar” in The Heart Pills is actually Sara’s whitehall keyboards growling and churning along through most of the songs. They band completes this companionship by amplifying the keys through guitar amps, often using two at a time. The sound is completed with Matt’s steady and lyrical drumming, Silas’ bright punky bass, and the group’s vocal harmonies.

Don’t come to The Heart Pills album expecting a simple folk record. These are story-songs, for sure, perfectly capturing the agony and ecstasy of becoming a Grown Up, through B-picture, carnival freak characters. While that is the root of their art, they dig deep into the rock lexicon. They surprise listeners with quirky rhythms, a blues song, long instrumental outros, and of course, a filing cabinet full of shit.

LP available at http://www.dwarfcraft.com/shop

Hear The Heart Pills now: http://theheartpills.wordpress.com/