Heartless Bastards - Restless Ones

Heartless Bastards have spent the past decade in motion, boldly pushing their unique brand of rock ‘n' roll into new shapes over four acclaimed albums and nearly non-stop roadwork. Now, with Restless Ones, the band sets out once again, blazing a path to a place of shifting moods, seasoned songcraft, and unbridled spontaneity.

Restless Ones, Heartless Bastards' fifth studio recording and follow-up to 2012's breakthrough Arrow, finds singer/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom exploring as-yet-unvisited avenues of sound and sensation, her bravery and ambition readily apparent in the emotional timbre and the sheer physicality of her songs.

"Wind Up Bird" and "Into The Light" are straightforward yet stunningly sophisticated, shot through with layered guitars, atmospheric harmonies, hints of synth, and a powerhouse rhythm section adept at both subtle swing and heavy horsepower. Wennerstrom's spellbinding vocals are of course front and center, her one-of-a-kind voice as primal, cathartic, and indefinable as ever. Having spent the better part of two years on tour, summer 2014 saw Heartless Bastards humming on all cylinders and ready to commence work on their next record. Wennerstrom began honing in on the myriad ideas she had accumulated, developing melodies and arrangements though not yet committing lyrics to paper. She experimented with vowel and consonant noises, toying with untested sounds and instrumentation. Grammy Award-winning producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen, Swans) was tasked with corralling Heartless Bastards' collective energy. The band made significant inroads during pre-production sessions, tightening songs and structures but still leaving things open to chance.

"When you record in the city you all live in, it's easy for people to just come in and out of the studio," Wennerstrom says, "so vocals and guitar parts and overdubs are often recorded without anyone else hearing them. Recording at Sonic Ranch was a way for everyone in the band to experience the creative process and to be able to offer opinions in real time."

The communal nature and concentrated schedule of the Sonic Ranch sessions proved an intense but inspirational combination. The sessions were marked by Heartless Bastards' openness to the unfamiliar, allowing previously untapped influences — from The Byrds and Syd Barrett to the Faces and the Flaming Lips — to take root in their own distinctive blues-powered rock ‘n' roll. "Wind Up Bird" is given texture and psychedelic lift via a visit from keyboardist John Baggott (Robert Plant's Sensational Space Shifters, Portishead, Massive Attack), while the album-closing "Tristessa" was born of Wennerstrom's home experiments with guitar loops but then grown by the band into a deeply devotional drone. Heartless Bastards continue to drive their monumental music ever forward, towards hidden vistas and horizons still unseen.

Side 1

Kabalevsky

1. Colas Breugnon, Op.24: Overture

Tchaikovsky

2. Marche slave

Borodin

3. Prince Igor: Act III: Polovski March

Side 2

Moussorgsky

1. A Night on Bare Mountain

Tchaikovsky

2. Marche miniature (from Suite No. 1 in D Minor, Op.43

Glinka

3. Russian and Ludmilla: Overture

Be the first to write a review for this item OR just rate it