21st Century Music: Heartless Bastards
21st Century Music are profiles on artists that have released all their music since the year 2000. These are playlists intended to highlight newer acts that may be of interest to readers that enjoy the older music that is the focus of Ceremony. Listen to the playlist by clicking on the streaming service of your choice. This profile was originally published in 2018 and was updated (and mostly rewritten) in 2025.
I learned of Heartless Bastards when they appeared on Late Night with David Letterman (included in the YouTube playlist) in 2009, playing a fantastic performance of “Out at Sea.” There was an energy and abandon in the performance that was lacking in the studio version, which was still amazing. I quickly dove into their first three albums, and they became one of my favourite acts of the past fifteen years. I was thrilled to be able to see them a few times, first in 2012, and then twice in 2015 when they played the TURF festival in Toronto followed by a show at the Horseshoe Tavern the following night. I am keen to see them again.
My love of the band has centred on its driving force, Erika Wennerstrom. Her voice, guitar work, and ability to create fantastic mid-tempo, blues-laced tunes completely drew me in. Ranging occasionally into harder rock or slowing it down into moody ballads, Erika’s voice always makes the songs sound edgy and alternative. Her ability to deliver strong melodies has been well established over their six albums.
Indeed, Heartless Bastards has been the project of Erika’s from the start, with an ever-changing line-up throughout its history. The most consistent players on the albums and tours have been Jesse Ebaugh (bass), Dave Colvin (drums), and Mark Nathan (guitar). Started in late 2002 in Cincinnati, demos and shows led to a signing with Fat Possum Records, facilitated by a recommendation by fellow Ohioan, Patrick Carney from The Black Keys. The name came from a response to a question in a barroom trivia game on Tom Petty’s band, offering ‘Tom Petty and The Heartless Bastards’ as a misleading multiple-choice option.
My photo of their 2015 performance at The Horseshoe (obviously). They played this impromptu gig the night after TURF and there were only about 50 people in attendance. They still put on a great show. Their playing is impeccable.
The debut album, Stairs and Elevators, was released in 2005. It was a bluesy, grungy, hooky album filled with power and a tilt to 1970s rock. The follow-up came in 2006 with All this Time. Building on the sound of the debut, the songs were more polished and sophisticated, and the strength and beauty of the ballads was measurably better.
Erika relocated to Austin before recording the third album, 2009’s The Mountain. While the sound expanded a bit, with additional instrumentation such as violin and mandolin, it remained anchored in the raw, fuzzy blues of the prior work. It added many new hook-filled rockers and ballads, but this time with “Out at Sea,” adding a more accessible, almost-pop styled track that gained them a broader audience.
The next two albums, Arrow in 2012 and Restless Ones in 2015, refined the sound, smoothing it out to be less edgy, and adding elements of country. “Only for You” provided them a minor hit, coming as close they’d come to a commercial breakthrough. Restless Ones was moodier, and perhaps more interesting in terms of developing the musical trajectory of Heartless Bastards, but with that change and lack of a hooky track, didn’t sustain their attention. As a result, much of the band decided to embark on different projects, making the future unknown.
Therefore, the next LP was released in 2018 by Erika as a solo album, suitably titled, Sweet Unknown. Though members of Heartless Bastards participated along with members of bands My Morning Jacket and Okkervill River, the general departure of the sound made sense that it was separated by name from the band (though I notice now (in 2025) that streaming services are also tagging the LP as Heartless Bastards). Other than the opening track, “Twisted Highway,” much of the album featured longer tracks that were less fuzzy and bluesy than the Heartless Bastards discography. “Extraordinary Love” and “A Beautiful Life” were two of the most beautiful tracks Erika had ever penned, feeling like throwbacks to the sweet, expansive sounds of ‘70s corporate rock.
It seemed the band was done when no further music appeared to be coming and as Erika prepared her next solo LP. As the recording progressed, she decided to issue it as a Heartless Bastards release after all, though the list of musicians playing on it was more extensive than ever before. I suspect it was better to continue to build that brand than continue under her own name, though Erika asserted it was because the music felt related to the band’s first LP, Stairs and Elevators. However, the album, A Beautiful Life, was a blend of the band and her solo work. It sounded nothing like any Heartless Bastards LP that had came before. It leaned into the ‘70s vibe again, especially on tracks like “You Never Know” and the title track, offering lush compositions with strings that harkened back to peak Fleetwood Mac. The album also had a retro, colourful style and with Erika’s fashions, also harkening to the ‘70s or even the early ‘80s. The lead single and track on the album was an extended rocker, “Revolution,” that also provided for her first time political and social commentary, reflective of the fraught period of the United States.
Music the band had provided for a 2013 indie film, Winter in the Blood, received a belated release in 2024. Otherwise, it has been several years since we’ve received new music or been able to see the band live. The quality, consistency, and development of Heartless Bastards music has been wonderful. They have been one of the leading examples of contemporary rock this century, blending the old with the new. Let’s hope that journey will continue.
The Playlist (“song” \ album (year)
My photo from their 2015 performance at the TURF Festival
“New Resolution” \ Stairs and Elevators (2005)
“Runnin’” \ Stairs and Elevators (2005)
“Pass and Fail” \ Stairs and Elevators (2005)
“Searching for the Ghost” \ All this Time (2006)
“All this Time” \ All this Time (2006)
“Brazen” \ All this Time (2006)
“Blue Day” \ All this Time (2006)
“Came A Long Way” \ All this Time (2006)
“The Mountain” \ The Mountain (2009)
“Hold Your Head High” \ The Mountain (2009)
“Out at Sea” \ The Mountain (2009)
“Sway” \ The Mountain (2009)
“Got to Have Rock and Roll” \ Arrow (2012)
“Only for You” \ Arrow (2012)
“Skin and Bone” \ Arrow (2012)
“Black Cloud” \ Restless Ones (2015)
“Journey” \ Restless Ones (2015)
“The Fool” \ Restless Ones (2015)
“Twisted Highway” \ Sweet Unknown (Erika Wennerstrom LP) (2018)
“Extraordinary Love” \ Sweet Unknown (Erika Wennerstrom LP) (2018)
“Be Good to Yourself” \ Sweet Unknown (Erika Wennerstrom LP) (2018)
“Revolution” \ A Beautiful Life (2021)
“You Never Know” \ A Beautiful Life (2021)
“A Beautiful Life” \ A Beautiful Life (2021)
