The Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
Released February 3, 2009
If there are any Heartless Bastard fans reading this, I want to apologize. I’m really very sorry, I didn’t realize. No one told me they were this good. I had heard of Heartless Bastards at least a year ago but didn’t pay much attention to them. I think I may have had a song or two sent to me by friends but when I lost my hard drive in what can only be described as the worst day of my life, I never bothered to replace them. Someone needs to smack me upside the head. The Mountain is probably my favourite CD of 2009. It is so good it’s like discovering Belgian chocolate after eating Hershey’s.
The Heartless Bastards hale from Dayton, Ohio, where Erika Wennerstrom, lead singer and guitarist, used to sneak into clubs to see bands such as Guided By Voices and Brainiac. “I would just see those people—my music heroes—hanging out at the bar like everyone else, I could see myself in them. It gave me inspiration to do my own thing.” she says. Citing everyone from The Rolling Stones to T Rex to Aretha Franklin to At The Drive-In as musical influences, the Heartless Bastards have been busy honing their own style since 2003. Their debut album, “Stairs and Elevators”, was released on Fat Possum Records in 2005 and their second CD, “All This Time”, in 2006.
It’s funny that with so many musical influences of such a diverse nature that this new CD of theirs, “The Mountain”, reminds me so much of early Patti Smith. Erika Wennerstrom’s voice has a little more twang than Smith’s but listening to her put me back in my boyfriends apartment where I first heard “Horses”. Normally I don’t like it when a band sounds too much like another, especially when it’s a band I hold dear to my heart, but not in this case. The Bastards manage to sound like Smith without actually copying her. Besides, there are enough tracks that are based in roots music to split up the rockier ones such as the single, “The Mountain”.
In 2007, Wennerstrom moved from Ohio to Texas effectively breaking up the band. She locked herself away for six months to write, the result being this album. The CD starts with the acoustic song, “Be So Happy”, where Wennerstrom muses about going “out into the sweet unknown”, a tip of the hat to her new adventure. From there we journey with her as she cleanses herself of her past, letting go of relationships and learning to be on her own. My favourite song is the third, “Had To Go”, with the plaintive plucking of banjo and a sorrowful violin refrain. Wennerstrom’s vocals explain without self-pity or regret, her reasons for leaving everything behind. “Lately I’m feeling so alone. I had packed up my bags and I left my home. Now, everything’s changing and I’m feeling alone. I got no one to blame cause I had to go.” I think we’ve all felt that way whether we’ve moved across country or just to another town.
All in all, “The Mountain”, is a strong effort from a band that seems determined not to be mainstream. And there’s nothing wrong with that. This isn’t an album to get up and dance to, it’s one for when you have a few friends over to have a few drinks and dinner. Even though the subject matter could be depressing, Wennerstrom wisely keeps the songs from going down that road. There is nothing dismal or melancholy about these 11 songs. They aren’t really uplifting either, they are just straightforward and honest. And that’s just about as much as I want these days.
The Heartless Bastards are: Erika Wennerstrom – guitars and vocals, Dave Colvin – drums, Jesse Ebaugh – bass. The producer is Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of the Dead). The Bastards will be making their network television debut on The Late Show With David Letterman this Tuesday, February 10. You can find the Heartless Bastards on YouTube and you can buy all Heartless Bastards music on iTunes. They can be found on MySpace
Listen:
The Heartless Bastards – The Mountain
The Heartless Bastards – Had To Go
The Heartless Bastards – Wide Awake
Tags: album
I hadn’t heard of them but I’m liking their sound.