CD Reviews

The Heartless Bastards

All This Time | Fat Possum

By DAVID BOFFA | January 22, 2007

2.5 Stars

The Heartless Bastards are a Dayton trio fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, an extremely shy woman with the voice of a blues crooner. Shortly after Patrick Carney of the Black Keys discovered them in an empty Akron bar, they released Stairs and Elevators to mixed reviews. The main knock: a “no frills” songwriting approach that lacked hooks. A few awkward attempts at a hit do appear on All This Time — “Into the Open” includes a forced piano theme and the title track is choked with synthesizers and cheesy love-song lyrics. But the downtrodden “Blue Day” and the instrumentally spare “Came a Long Way” have Wennerstrom in her comfort zone, singing about soul searching in guttural roars over three-chord guitar jams. So this sophomore effort isn’t simply a failed sellout. What else would you expect from a band who practice in their bassist’s janitorial-supply warehouse?

Related: Heartless Bastards | The Mountain, Beyond the White Stripes, John Doe, More

Topics: CD Reviews , The Black Keys, Patrick Carney, Erika Wennerstrom

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