Minnesota trio Heart to Gold were waiting beside their broken-down van in Darien, Georgia when the title of theirthird LP was conceived. Fairly broke and terribly bored, one of them suggested that they hold up a cardboard sign that said “Free Help,” a last-ditch attempt to find something to keep them busy. The offer stuck with singer and guitarist Grant Whiteoak—it felt like what music and art can be for people.
“You have access to these things that really don’t cost anything at all, but they can improve and guide your life so much,” says Whiteoak, who is joined by his Heart to Gold bandmates bassist Jim Kiser and drummer Blake Kuether in their relentless quest for community across the map.
Recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip (Title Fight, Turnstile, Movements) and released today on his label, Memory Music, Free Help is an expertly arranged, arena-sized rendering of Heart to Gold’s scrappy, bold guitar rock; a heartening mix of melodic punk, cavernous post-hardcore, and ’90s alt-rock.
Formed in 2017, Heart to Gold strike a chord with their swaggering, scrappy Midwest punk that prioritizes the strength of the collective over the individual.
There are obvious influences from bands like The Weakerthans, American Football, Weezer, Husker Du, and more, but Heart to Gold is really doing their own thing with it and that’s in part due to Whiteoak. Both on a songwriting and a vocal delivery level, his voice and his lyrics can often times feel like two distinct instruments––and part of the band’s magic is in how they’re able to masterfully weave it all together.