Hard On The Heels Of Something More

T’Pau “Heart and Soul”

“Heart and Soul” overlaps and contrasts two lead vocal parts, both performed by Carol Decker. One part is sort of rapped in a cool voice over a hazy, atmospheric synth-bass groove, and the other is fiery and emotive, like Ann Wilson from Heart in power ballad mode. There’s a subtextual trick here that Sleater-Kinney would further develop and refine a decade later – the colder and more rhythmic voice is more wordy and cerebral, while the warmer, more melodic voice is all unfiltered passion. In this case, it’s the “rational” mind and the “emotional” mind processing the same situation.

Decker is singing about being in love with someone who sends her mixed signals, and while half of her mind is hyper-focused on analyzing the situation, the rest of her is just openly pleading for more love and validation. The part of her that’s overthinking everything is tightly wound and cautious, but she sounds absolutely certain in the chorus. She knows how she feels, she knows what she needs, she knows what she wants this person to say and do. This part seems to burst and cut through the clutter, a pure unedited thought calling out to be felt and understood.

In this song, and in several Sleater-Kinney classics, the message is clear: Don’t trust the overthinking mind. It’s the neurotic part of you that sabotages everything, that fears the worst and makes it come true. It’s the thing in your mind that obsesses on “mixed signals” and then makes you send out your own. The raw emotional part of the song is the truth, and it’s the honest and open communication that makes true love possible. It’s not a mistake that it’s the boldest, loudest part of the song.

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