Heartless Bastards seemed to me like the breakout act of the year, and The Mountain certainly was my favorite among bands I hadn't really heard before. Interestingly, Erika Wennerstrom made her biggest leap only after scrapping her bandmates and relocating to Texas. Though I went back and found the band's first two efforts to be equally engaging, there's no question that The Mountain is the Wennerstrom's most diverse offering yet.
Producer extraordinaire Mike McCarthy assembled most of the players in the studio, but a long year on the road proved that the Bastards are back to being a proper band.
HP's Chris Gray helpfully reminds us that Heartless Bastards' new record The Mountain is still one of 2009's finest. Also that they are opening for Andrew Bird at House Of Blues next Saturday -- one of the oddest pairings you're likely to hear for a while.
Meanwhile, Gray also reviewsToby Keith's performance at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, which yours truly also attended. Let me say this: sometimes we music geeks/snobs fall into the trap of assuming that the Toby Keiths of the world are just cheese wiz for the masses.
Every now and then, it's great to get out there and see for yourself that, yeah, you've pretty much got it nailed.
You've got less than 24 hours to enter to win two tickets to see Heartless Bastards at the Last Concert Cafe this Saturday. Simply drop me an email, and I'll enter your name in the drawing.
...and I've got a pair of tickets to give away. Don't forget to drop me an email with "Heartless Bastards tix" in the subject line, and I'll get your name in the drawing. Deadline is Friday @ 11am CST!
Also, if you'd like to take your honey out for a night of enchiladas and music, the Last Concert is offering a dinner and show package, which includes two tickets, fajitas for two, dessert and a bottle of champagne. And a band named Heartless Bastards! Regular tickets and dinner tickets can be purchased here. (NOTE: Dinner package is NOT included in my ticket giveaway.)
BTW, if you didn't catch them on Letterman last night, they really ripped it up. This is a must-see show.
UPDATE: Here ya go...
UPDATE II: More Heartless Bastards goodies...
You can stream and download tracks from HB's recent Daytrotter sessions here.
You can download a solo acoustic version of "Early In The Morning"here.
As previously mentioned, you can download the title track from The Mountainhere.
I'll be giving away two tickets to the Heartless Bastards' show at the Last Concert Cafe on Saturday, Feb. 14. Just drop me a line with "Heartless Bastards Tix" in the subject line:
Spend Valentine's Day with the Heartless Bastards!
The day I heard the Heartless Bastards' new album The Mountain, I also (legally) downloaded the band's first two albums Stairs and Elevators and All This Time. That's a pretty heavy endorsement in my book, but with all of the albums placed on such equal footing, it's been tough to nail down my favorite Heartless Bastards album. On the one hand, Stairs and Elevators is a raw and pounding assault, and the only of their albums to really merit the endless Black Keys comparisons (both bands also hail from Ohio). On the other hand, All This Time shows vastly more texture and nuance than its predecessor, sometimes at the expense of all that raw power. Both albums are impressive on their own merits, but taken together, they don't paint a clear picture of exactly who the Heartless Bastards are.
With their third release The Mountain, that picture should come into sharper focus. First, let there be no doubt that the band is the vision of frontwoman Ericka Wennerstrom. Following the dissolution of the original trio, Wennerstrom relocated to Austin, where she ultimately reunited with Dave Colvin and Jesse Ebaugh, who actually played on the original Bastards demo. But in the meantime, Wennerstrom hooked up with producer Mike McCarthy and let him tap some local talent to form the musical core of The Mountain. The result both reasserts the Bastards' muscular appeal and stretches the band further than ever before. The deliberate (and rather brilliant) sequencing, which highlights a largely acoustic middle section, will frustrate some fans. But repeated listens reveal a tricky dynamic that steers the album up a dusty trail of folk and blues before crashing back to sea level with a fiery thud (the album-closing one-two punch of "Witchy Poo" and "Sway").
It's perhaps this daring path that sets The Mountain apart from the band's two previous efforts, but it's also notable how clearly an assertive force Wennerstrom has become. At a crucial juncture in the band's development, Wennerstrom has impressively delivered a record that fulfills the promise of the Bastards' first two albums, as well as hints at potential yet to be fulfilled.
The Mountain is out TODAY on Fat Possum Records (download the title track here). They'll pay a visit to Letterman on Feb. 10. And if you're a fellow Houstonian, you'll be able to catch them twice in the coming months, on Feb. 14 at the Last Concert Cafe and opening for Andrew Bird on Mar. 21 at the House Of Blues. More tour dates here.
Also, check out this performance from last year's ACL Festival...
UPDATE: The Ramblings will be having a little Heartless Bastards contest next week. Check back Monday for details (especially you Houston readers).
UPDATE II: Lots 'o love from the critics for The Mountain:
Very nice press for the Heartless Bastards in the New York Times. Their new album The Mountain will be released this week on Fat Possum Records, and, as you may recall, I really dig it. I'll hopefully have a full review in the next few days.
Very nice writeup about Heartless Bastards' new record The Mountain (due Feb. 3 on Fat Possum) in the LA Times' music blog. I'll have plenty more about The Mountain in the coming weeks, but you can check out some of the band's upcoming tour dates below:
01.30.09 - Young Ave Deli - Memphis, TN * 01.31.09 - Martyr’s - Chicago, IL * 02.03.09 - Great Scott - Boston, MA * 02.04.09 - Maxwell’s - Hoboken, NJ * 02.05.09 - Electric Factory - Philadelphia, PA + 02.06.09 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY + 02.07.09 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY + 02.10.09 - Gravity Lounge - Charlottesville, VA * 02.12.09 - Bottle Tree - Birmingham, AL * 02.13.09 - Government Street Grocery - Ocean Springs, MS * 02.14.09 - Last Concert Café - Houston, TX * 02.28.09 - Hailey’s - Denton, TX * 03.15.09 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO 03.16.09 - Liberty Hall - Lawrence, KS 03.17.09 - Cain’s Ballroom - Tulsa, OK 03.18.09 - SXSW - Austin, TX 03.19.09 - SXSW - Austin, TX 03.20.09 - SXSW - Austin, TX 03.21.09 - House of Blues - Houston, TX 03.23.09 - Lyric Oxford - Oxford, MS 03.29.09 - Mr. Smalls - Pittsburgh, PA # 04.02.09 - Turner Hall - Milwaukee, WI # 04.03.09 - The Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL # 04.04.09 - Varsity Theater - Minneapolis, MN # 04.07.09 - The Warehouse - Calgary, AB # 04.08.09 - The Starlight Room - Edmonton, AB # 04.10.09 - The Plaza Nightclub - Vancouver, BC # 04.15.09 - The Boardwalk - Sacramento, CA # 04.16.09 - Slim’s - San Francisco, CA # 04.21.09 - The Clubhouse - Tempe, AZ # 04.24.09 - Gothic Theater - Denver, CO #
* Heartless Bastards headlining + Show with The Black Keys Show with Andrew Bird
