Heads and Hearts was recorded in November 1984 at Townhouse Studios in London.

[1] Andy Kellman of AllMusic opined that the album saw the group "riding the wave of optimism—or maybe it would be better to say enthusiasm or vigor—that shot through them as they found themselves revitalized after parting ways with a major label", citing the album's "sweepingly hopeful sensibility", despite calling the album's first track "one of the Sound's weariest, most exasperated-with-the-rigors-of-existence songs in their quiver".

[4][5] The album was remastered and reissued in 1996 by Renascent along with the preceding Shock of Daylight EP.

Trouser Press called the album "even better" than the Shock of Daylight EP, writing that "the record's modesty and continuous flow make it a thoroughly engaging listen".

[7] The Sound drummer Michael Dudley, on the other hand, later qualified the album as "a real low point – drab, lifeless and miserable".