By Jane McDonald
Frontman Issac Friend of Hound Heart opens their Head Room Session with a confession: Not only do they normally play with front woman Alli Walls, but they’re also “fresh” as this is their 2nd time playing. Which is technically true for the Denver band Hound Heart, but duo Isaac and Alli have been creating music for over 2 years together, and their Head Room Session performance is anything but amateur.
Photo By Bre Blake Photography
Hound Heart opens with Black River, the opening track of their self-titled 2019 EP, setting the stage with twangy electric guitar that creates imagery of a dark backwater bar. It is a song full of metaphor (a common theme in Friend’s songwriting) suggesting an internal struggle with destructive habits and the what-ifs that exist within a romantic interest.
“Black River I’ve been bathing in, time to bite the Big Apple again, can I be the kinda man you were picturing, honey?”
Before playing their second song entitled Pay Me No Mind, Issac shares its inspiration with the avid audience. While post-break up and quitting smoking in solidarity with his ill father, his Dad nihilistically once commented, “don’t pay me no mind, I’m just dying.” The themes of heartbreak and mortality permeate this oddly uptempo track, and carry into their final song Black Boxes. Moody and symbolic, the lyrics hint at the lack of connection in the world — perhaps due to those black mirrors we’re all lost in?
Hound Heart is alt Americana at is best because it is supported with thoughtful and vivid songwriting. I would welcome the opportunity to see them in the future with the addition of a female vocalist Alli Walls, as their recorded music is presented, but I must say that I very much enjoyed Issac Friend playing the reluctant and charmingly vulnerable front-man for Hound Hearts Head Room Session.