FYF Fest Preview 2011: More Girls Girls Girls!

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From KCRW DJ Marion Hodges:

Charity Rose Thielen from The Head and the Heart

But wait, there’s more! As we discussed things further this morning, RR and I realized that two other bands with a strong female presence are featured in the line-up for this years FYF Fest (which fellow KCRW DJ Mario Cotto and I previewed here) — The Head and the Heart, and Cults. (Also, even though the whole “Girls vs. Boys” thing wasn’t a real competition, I still wanted to win!)

The Head and the Heart are a six-piece band from Seattle. Five of the band’s members are male, but like so many of the bands that I profiled in the earlier piece, it’s the female component of this band that is it’s not so secret weapon. Charity Rose Thielen joined the band after a year of living in Paris where she studied music. The excellent training shows as she weaves her violin parts, heartbreakingly beautiful harmonies into each song with subtle ease. The self-titled full length has been recently re-released by Sup Pop records, after their self release of the same album flew off the shelves of every Seattle record store it inhabbited last year. I don’t know what to expect from their live show, but any band that produces songs this well-crafted and heartfelt have got to put on one hell of a live show.

Helpful hint, if you can’t catch their set at FYF, they’ll be live on Morning Becomes Eclectic Tuesday, September 6!

Lost In My Mind by theheadandtheheart

Cults, on the other hand, derive the majority of their strength from their very young female vocalist Madeline Follin. Of course, both band members are integral in designing the technologically forward take on Phil Spector’s Greatest Hits from the 1960s at which they excel. It’s still Follin’s voice that packs the most punch, and completely sells the modern girl group vibe they’ve so skillfully designed. Spoken word samples from various cult leaders give the band a neat twist to set them apart from various peers mining the same bins at their local record stores, and gives the band name that much more weight. I’ve read about them traveling with five samplers, just to make sure they always have one that works. The more I read about the band, the more curious I am to see how it will all play out live. I’m betting that if nothing else their cult (pun intended) internet hit “Go Outside,” will result in a nice festival sing along moment.

— Marion Hodges