"What Is This Heart?"

"What Is This Heart?"
Studio album by How to Dress Well
Released	June 23, 2014 (2014-06-23)
Genre	Alternative R&B experimental ambient lo-fi experimental pop [1]
Length	55:01
Label	Weird World
How to Dress Well chronology
Total Loss (2012) "What Is This Heart?" (2014) Care (2016)

"What Is This Heart?" is the third studio album by How to Dress Well released on June 23, 2014, on Weird World, an imprint of Domino. It is his highest-charting album peaking at number 145 on The Billboard 200. ^[2]

The songs "A Power" and "What You Wanted" were co-written and co-produced by CFCF. ^[3]

Title

Krell described the album's title in a message on Twitter: ^[4]

my new album is called "What Is This Heart?"--- just like that, in quotes, like a spoken question.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.1/10 [5]
Metacritic	69/100 [6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	C+ [8]
Fact	4/5 [9]
The Guardian	[10]
NME	5/10 [11]
Pitchfork	8.8/10 [12]
Q	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Slant Magazine	[15]
Spin	7/10 [16]

"What Is This Heart?" received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 32 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". ^[6]

Ian Cohen of Pitchfork gave a very positive review of the album, stating, ""What Is This Heart?" makes you initially susceptible and vulnerable, and that's risky when modern discourse seeks metaphorical blood, allowing people to disclose more than ever without actually revealing anything. So make no mistake, the title of this album is a challenge as well, as How to Dress Well's modern masterpiece is conducted with the most eternal transparency—Krell asks "what is this heart" and lets you look right into his own." ^[12]

Track listing

"What Is This Heart?" track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"2 Years On (Shame Dream)"	3:50
2.	"What You Wanted"	5:28
3.	"Face Again"	4:29
4.	"See You Fall"	3:17
5.	"Repeat Pleasure"	3:36
6.	"Words I Don't Remember"	6:18
7.	"Pour Cyril"	4:12
8.	"Precious Love"	4:04
9.	"Childhood Faith in Love (Everything Must Change, Everything Must Stay the Same)"	3:47
10.	"A Power"	5:00
11.	"Very Best Friend"	4:54
12.	"House Inside (Future Is Older Than the Past)"	6:06
Total length:		55:01

References

1. Hawthrone, Katie (6 September 2016). "Take Care: How To Dress Well Interviewed". The Skinny. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. "How to Dress Well – Chart history". Billboard. 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
3. "CFCF on Twitter: @HowToDressWell lp! peep "What You Wanted" and "A Power" songs I co-wrote and produced"". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
4. "literally your boy on Twitter" . Retrieved 19 September 2016.
5. "What Is This Heart? by How to Dress Well reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved December 19, 2019.
6. "Reviews for What Is This Heart? by How to Dress Well". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved November 7, 2015.
7. Phares, Heather. "What Is This Heart? – How to Dress Well". AllMusic . Retrieved February 23, 2016.
8. Rytlewski, Evan (June 24, 2014). "How To Dress Well remains torn between pop escapism and emotional torment". The A.V. Club . Retrieved February 23, 2016.
9. Cliff, Aimee (June 24, 2014). "What Is This Heart?". Fact . Archived from the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
10. Mokoena, Tshepo (June 19, 2014). "How to Dress Well: What is This Heart? review – a soundtrack to heartbreak and general misery". The Guardian . Retrieved May 8, 2019.
11. Beaumont, Mark (June 22, 2014). "How To Dress Well – 'What Is This Heart?'". NME . Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
12. Cohen, Ian (June 22, 2014). "How to Dress Well: "What Is This Heart?"". Pitchfork . Retrieved February 23, 2016.
13. "How to Dress Well: "What Is This Heart?"". Q (337): 108. August 2014.
14. Weiner, Sophie (June 24, 2014). "What Is This Heart?". Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 8, 2019.
15. Cataldo, Jesse (June 5, 2014). "How to Dress Well: What Is This Heart?". Slant Magazine . Retrieved May 8, 2019.
16. Walters, Barry (June 25, 2014). "How To Dress Well Opens a Vein, Bleeds Turbulent R&B on '"What Is this Heart?'"". Spin . Retrieved June 24, 2014.