Heartless Bastards “The Mountain” Review
As a kid, the vast majority of the music I listened to was comprised of umpteen cassettes of kid-focused folk music (Raffi ruled!) and whatever country music station my father selected during long car rides. But as I entered my teenage years, I began digging through my mom’s record collection to see what she and Dad enjoyed when they were younger. I was surprised to discover records from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and The Who, amongst others, causing me to wonder where this music had been during my childhood. But standing out from all of that testosterone-heavy 1960s pop and 1970s rock music were albums from Janis Joplin and Rita Coolidge, women who weren’t afraid to belt out their songs with an aggressively feminine passion that rivaled the dirty blues-rock of their male counterparts.
I credit women like Janis, Rita, and my mother with giving me a glimpse into the heart, mind, and character of strong women everywhere, because without them, I wouldn’t be able to appreciate the music of Heartless Bastards. Led by the powerful alto of Erika Wennerstrom, the band has carved out a place alongside The White Stripes and The Black Keys in bringing old-school blues-rock ethics to the 21st-century musical landscape. Moreover, the band’s electric live shows have earned them massive respect and a diehard fan base amongst music fans that enjoy gritty modern blues powered by chunky power chords.
Heartless Bastards “The Mountain” live at the Continental Club in Austin, TX
Yet for all intents and purposes The Mountain, the group’s first record in three years, could be described as a good-sized hill at best. What immediately leaps out at the listener is how slickly produced this album is in comparison to the first two and how such production values seem to water down the impact of this emotionally charged rock band. Erika’s voice is still bristling with power and ardor, but it sounds as if the raw edges of these overall solid songs have been sanded off to achieve greater accessibility.
Furthermore, The Mountain has the aural appearance of two EP’s scrunched together because the individual songs are too good to leave on the production room floor. Tracks one through six are prototypical Heartless Bastards scorchers, replete with the distortion-laden guitars, rollicking hooks, and singable choruses that everyone loves. Running counter to this are tracks seven through eleven that overwhelmingly consist of country-folk waltzes that, while mostly excellent, could have been more skillfully sprinkled throughout the entirety of the record.
photo by Felicia Graham
In the end, for all of the positive words I could foist upon this album, I find it to be frustratingly average, because, for every robust, earthy cut like “The Mountain,” “Early In The Morning,” and “Had To Go,” there is a song like “Hold Your Head High” and “Nothing Seems The Same” that merely revisits some already traveled territory. While Erika continues to pay great homage to her vocal forebears with her deeply moving lyrics and exceptional delivery, The Mountain is desperately in need of more crags, peaks, and boulders for Heartless Bastards fans to make it a truly worthwhile climb.
[Review by guest contributor Adam P. Newton.]
Heartless Bastards “The Mountain” [MP3]
Dang good stuff love it