Review: Heartless Bastards, The Lantern

Erika Wennerstrom (Vocals, Guitar), Dave Colvin (Drums), Jesse Ebaugh (Bass) and Mark Nathan (Guitar) are Heartless Bastards. Except they’re not, as they proved at the Lantern. The band (ably supported by multi instrumentalist Kyleen King) has both heart and soul, playing an excellent set, well paced with ebbs and flows in both tempo and style.

A lazy description of their sound might be Lucinda Williams fronting the Drive-By Truckers, but Wennerstrom has less rasp than the former and whilst the band have the DBT crunch on some of their tunes, they occupy other, different spaces on the Americana / Southern Rock spectrum. It was certainly a foot tapping night, but there was plenty to feed the head too – at times you could lose yourself in the trippiness of songs that evoked the feeling of some of the classic San Francisco bands, particularly during a climatic Tristessa, which left Wennerstrom alone onstage lost in the song as she sang over squalls of feedback.

The band have been touring their fifth long player – Restless Ones – and the LP featured heavily in the set, but then it was leavened with plenty of back catalogue as well. There have been a few Bastards since the band’s 2003 formation in Cincinnati but it has to be said the current line up is pretty damn tight. Nathan certainly didn’t bother with any of the shape throwing that comes with the lead guitar spot, but cranked out great riffs and sublime solos. With Wennerstrom picking up the acoustic and electric too, there was a satisfying full sound when required, but delicate picking too. Incidentally King’s offerings added colour and texture to the tunes, but sadly the mix occasionally lost her contributions. A shame as the thing that separates the HB live experience from some of their contemporaries is the subtle stuff enhancing the vibe but not overwhelming the song.

Colvin and Ebaugh brought the soul to the night, Colvin certainly proved capable of pummelling the kit for the rawk tunes, but with Ebaugh he also ensured there was plenty of swing & groove. Whilst the extended band certainly made their presence felt musically, they sensibly left Wennerstrom as the focal point – her vocal dexterity ably matched by her onstage charisma. Easy going banter with both band and crowd was contrasted with her total focus on the songs – truly lost in the music she was mesmeric to watch. No need for belittling booty-shaking bullshit, just a player lost in their own world and letting the spirit of the songs manifest themselves with a southern sashay here and a bit of full-on Kali writhing there.

The band are by now back on an extensive US tour, tag ‘em up on the social media thing of your choosing and don’t let their next Bristol date pass you by. With any justice they’ll be playing bigger rooms soon.

For more information, visit www.theheartlessbastards.com.

Photo credit: Simon Reed

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