Heartless Bastards

Heartless Bastards is a blues-rock group from Cincinnati, Ohio, active since 2003. The band is led by singer, guitarist and songwriter Erika Wennerstrom, with Dave Colvin on drums, Jesse Ebaugh on bass and Mark Nathan on guitar. It begins in Dayton, Ohio, where Wennerstrom discovers the name in a bar video trivia game and starts performing after spending time around the local scene as a teenage songwriter.

Early years and debut release

Wennerstrom grows up watching the Dayton scene around acts such as Guided by Voices, Brainiac and the Breeders, and she says those musicians help her feel that she can pursue her own path. After playing local shows, the band tours regionally. During one early show in Akron, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney is in the audience, and that chance meeting helps connect the band to Fat Possum Records.

The band releases its debut album, Stairs and Elevators, in 2005. The record receives strong critical attention, including a four-and-a-half-star review from Rolling Stone, which highlights Wennerstrom’s vocals.

Line-up changes and later work

In 2007, Wennerstrom moves to Austin, Texas, to begin a new recording project. Working with producer Mike McCarthy, she puts together a new line-up that includes Dayton musicians Colvin and Ebaugh, both of whom have links to the band’s earliest recordings, alongside Austin guitarist Nathan. This version of the group takes shape around Wennerstrom’s songs and voice.

The Mountain, released in 2009, adds mandolins, banjos and strings to the band’s sound. In 2012, the band releases Arrow on Partisan Records, its first album for that label. The record includes songs such as “Parted Ways” and “Low Low Low” and is described as a more eclectic and energetic set of songs than before.

Style and recognition

Heartless Bastards are associated with garage rock and indie rock, with blues-rock also used to describe the group. Wennerstrom’s voice is a central feature of the band’s sound, often described in the coverage of its early and later records as forceful, emotional and distinctive. The band is also noted for live performances that draw attention for their intensity.