Free download: The Head and the Heart's 'Shake'

The Head and the Heart is about to be anything but Still with the release of its sophomore album, out Tuesday.

"In the last four years, there's been a lot of curiosity and growth for us as a band," says guitarist Jonathan Russell. "We wrote the first album entirely acoustic and for Let's Be Still, we were a lot more adventurous. There was a lot of instrument swapping, like Kenny (Hensley) usually plays piano, but this time played electric guitar." With the album's release, the Seattle sextet of twentysomethings — singer Josiah Johnson, Russell, violinist Charity Rose Thielen, bassist Chris Zasche, Hensley, and drummer Tyler Williams — will hit the ground running, performing on Late Show With David Letterman that night and kicking off a tour Thursday in Brooklyn that wraps up Dec. 13 in Denver.

Of the 31 shows, 12 are sold out, a healthy assumption that the band has been picking up steam since Johnson and Russell met at open mike night in Seattle's Conor Byrne Pub in 2009. "For Let's Be Still, I got to be a lot more involved than the first time, because that album was pretty much written before we'd formed. It feels great to be able to contribute and to grow as a songwriter," says Thielen, who wrote Summertime.

As far as they've come, the bandmates are aware that they have much more to learn. "Inspiration for me is watching people perform who are better than me," says Thielen, "When you tour with Dr. Dog and My Morning Jacket, that happens a lot." For Russell, the biggest challenge has been adjusting to bigger venues. "I'm competitive, so it's exciting to me," says Russell. "With the coffee shops, that's one level of performance, and there's that connection and energy. But in larger venues, you have to fill up that space, you can't just stand there. The stage is a monster and you have to slay it or it will eat you alive. You have to become a performer and if you can't, then it'll be a horrible show and a quick death."

There's something to be said for small spaces, says Thielen. "I miss the interaction in smaller venues. I miss when we were living in a van. We were in a bubble, we were a community. Now we're kind of spread out and slowly moving apart," she says. "But I'm proud of the album, it has a quirky vibe."

Here's a free download of the group's single, Shake.

TOUR DATES

Oct. 17: Brooklyn, N.Y., The Music Hall of Williamsburg

Oct. 20: Charleston, S.C., Blackbaud Stadium

Oct. 21: Asheville, N.C., The Orange Peel

Oct. 22: St. Louis, The Pageant

Oct. 24: Indianapolis, Egyptian Room

Oct. 25: Chicago, Riviera

Oct. 26-27: Minneapolis, First Avenue

Oct. 28: Madison, Wis., Orpheum Theater

Oct. 29: Royal Oak, Mich., Royal Oak Music Theatre

Oct. 31: Toronto, The Danforth Music Hall

Nov. 1-2: Boston, The Royale

Nov. 4: Washington, 9:30 Club

Nov. 5: New York, Terminal 5

Nov. 6: New York, Webster Hall

Nov. 8-9: Philadelphia, Union Transfer

Nov. 10: Raleigh, N.C., Ritz

Nov. 12: Atlanta, The Buckhead

Nov. 13: New Orleans, Tipitina's

Nov. 14: Houston, Warehouse Live Ballroom

Nov. 15: Dallas, Southside Ballroom

Nov. 16-17: Austin, Stubbs

Dec. 2: Vancouver, The Commodore Ballroom

Dec. 3: Seattle, Key Arena

Dec. 5: Oakland, Fox Theater

Dec. 7, 10: Los Angeles, The Wiltern

Dec. 12-13: Denver, Ogden Theatre