Heartless Bastards: The Mountain
If Heartless Bastards were a star sign, they would be a Libra. If they were an attraction in a child’s playground they would be a see-saw. If they were a circus act they would be an intermediate tightrope walker. For those who are struggling to grasp my metaphor, I’m talking about a finely poised balancing act. Having dedicated ample research time to this almost garage - and by this I mean small, not Oxide and Neutrino! - band, I’ve discovered this is no new thing.
Whilst their first record 'Stairs and Elevators' was received rapturously by critics, their sophomore effort, 'All This Time', was met in a more sober fashion. Second album syndrome is such a phobia for bands with sparkling debuts, that I try and slide over comparison between the two, unless the follow-up is so atrociously worse than its predecessor. No, for me, the yard stick by which to measure how a band is settling down is the third album. Not with 'The Mountain'. That is why they are still walking the tightrope, matching up those scales. Elements of their previous records, intersperse with departures from their jaunty, country rock.
Experimentation is on the agenda and although this threatens to dismantle the album’s cohesion at times, the mere fact that they are trying, makes them intriguing. Heavy guitar rock, soulful/blues rock, and alt-folk are all on offer in a tuneful medley. The one constant is front-woman Erika Wennerstrom’s imagination. There is more than a sense of isolation and lack of self-knowledge in her lyricism, mixed with just-out-of-reach contentment and affirmations of happiness and pride.
No greater endorsement for this interpretation comes from the words of the title track and opener - “Oh you feel and you taste it and you want to go higher…and so you peak into the mountain where your desire goes”. Wistfulness and anticipation is so palpable, you are reaching with her. It is no coincidence that her voice is viewed by many as transcendental. What makes the song more astonishing is the heavy rock riffing combining with the tremolo dominant hooks, which both frame her throaty and searing vocals.
Multi-layered seems such an understatement if one tries to label the songs and it is more beneficial to simply listen to the diversity rather than try and account for it. 'I Could Be So Happy' switches the focus to alt-country, muffled backing vocals and a drawling and sometimes yodelling performance by Wennerstrom. This is replicated, with a blues inspired twang, in 'Hold Your Head High', one of the major triumphs on the record. In its 5m05s length, the listener is transported to a saloon bar in small-town U.S, where lazy boozers tap their approval on the bar with their bottles of Rolling Rock. 'Out at Sea' and 'Early In The Morning' prove that they can ratchet up the energy in true punkish fashion.
The balance is being messed with here. And the clincher, which has the bigger child dominating the see-saw, the scales tipping in favour of the customer, or the walker cart-wheeling along the high wire, is the two side by side folk offerings. In 'So Quiet' and 'Had To Go', Heartless Bastards have given voice to the vast expanses of rural America, from the snowy towns of wintry New England, to the dusty fields of Iowa, to the wild plains of Texas. The former substitutes violin for guitar, banjo for drum and bass, and an ambling tone for haste. Wennerstrom’s voice quivers painfully over the top, conducting the instrumental through the easiness of the folk sound. This is intensified in the latter, which draws on the lilt and ethereal nature of sea shanties to create a musical melting pot of strings, banjos, and mandolin rich alt-folk.
For some, the conceptual nature of the record, and the interplay of genres might frustrate listeners, but for me it only shows how good it is that artists are not tied down by convention and expectation. William Blake once said that “Great things are done when men and mountains meet”. He got it almost right, just the wrong gender!
4/5
Words: John Elmes
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