Heartless Bastards
The Mountain

It would seem Heartless Bastards have a heart, and it shows on their latest record The Mountain (Fat Possum Records) released back in February of this year. I shamefully, very belatedly, discovered it via an email I received from Spoonful (www.spooonful.com).

The email I received offered up the title cut The Mountain. All I had to do was hear this one song. The next thing I knew, I had my credit card in hand purchasing this album. The tune begins with a slowly strummed distorted rhythm guitar that soon introduces us to an eerie steel or slide guitar, or possibly both, wailing in the not so distant background. The guitar leads us into the astoundingly powerful voice of singer-songwriter Erika Wennerstrom.

Her somewhat deep voice, emitting from a small stature, lends a very unique quality to an already distinctively psychedelic sound. She possesses one of the most silky-smooth voices I’ve heard in a very long time. I would personally rank her up there with female singers such as Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders or Annie Lennox of The Eurythmics, even the underappreciated Grace Slick at times. These are three extremely heavy hitters for sure, and great company for an up and coming young singer, but her voice is truly that strong.

This record is the result of Ms. Wennerstrom relocating from Ohio to Austin in 2007, barricading herself in her apartment with guitar, paper, and pen, and writing these new songs. Each song on The Mountain possesses its own flavor, its very own unique style, yet very much The Heartless Bastards. One song may be a standard rock tune (Early in the Morning), the next will have a bluesy feel (Hold Your Head High), and then finally, we will hear banjos, mandolins, even a fiddle (Had to Go & So Quite) on at least a couple tunes.

Because of this record’s obvious diversity there are places where it sort of reminds me of, and I’m really showing my age here, of Jefferson Starship’s ‘Blows Against the Empire’. That record, released in 1970, had Jerry Garcia plucking away at the banjo and Papa John Creach playing fiddle on several cuts, and of course Grace Slick. I couldn’t help but wonder if Heartless Bastards, or at least, Ms. Wennerstrom, hadn’t listened to this record at some point during her journey to rock and roll stardom, and be at least slightly influenced by it.

Ms. Wennerstrom put together an excellent band in this endeavor, assembling bassist Jesse Ebaugh, original Heartless Bastards drummer Dave Colvin, and Matt Nathan on guitar. Erika Wennerstrom is the one constant in The Heartless Bastards, and that is how it should be. After all, she is the driving force of the band. She is the one who writes the music and she is the one who makes their sound unique.

Things seem to have really taken off for them of late and as a result, they have a crazy tour schedule coming up that starts out in Florida, will take them to the UK, then back to the states. The tour, for now, will end up at the ACL festival in Austin, Texas in October. I for one plan to be there, sitting front-row-center if at all possible.

The Mountain is exquisitely produced by Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead) and is actually one of the best records I’ve heard this year. ‘Rebel’ Rod says to absolutely, without hesitation; pick up The Mountain and any other Heartless Bastards albums you can get your little fingers on.



Carrie Rodriguez
She Ain't Me

I first heard and saw Ms. Rodriguez on a video with Chip Taylor. The sense of site first caught my attention. She is truly a beautiful person in her appearance, but then I heard her voice. I was drawn closer to her. Then she played her fiddle! I was done for. It was as if I was a sailor on a greek ship being drawn into the rocks by the Sirens. But in a good way!

The next time I saw her was with her band at The Luckenbach Dance Hall. It was right after the release of her 1st solo album "Seven Angels on a Bicycle". The song 'Never Gonna Be Your Bride' blew me away! I then realized this performer had her own legs to stand on. She still, I believe, collaborates with Chip Taylor from time to time but is more than capable on her own.

I love "She Ain't Me". Her first album is good but her new venture is far superior. As it says in her bio from her website www.carrierodriguez.com, "She Ain't Me", Rodriguez's second solo outing for Manhattan/Back Porch, "It comes from having to really look within yourself when you're forced to be alone, and to not be afraid of that process," Rodriguez says. "Taking some time off from the road this year to write allowed me to do some growing and reflecting that I often put aside when I'm touring all the time."

And it shows! Ms. Rodriguez is a classically trained violinist from Austin, Texas. She is the off spring of a Mother who was a huge fan of the opera and Dad who was a folksinger. You can sort of her that influence in her songs. They all have a folky yet classical edge to them.

In the song 'Mask of Moses', it seems you have just about all genres at once, with her own 29 year old version of how it all should sound. We're led in by by the gentle picking of a mandolin, then Ms. Rodriguez's smooth voice singing, "Don't read the news it's sad today/as long as you don't forget to pray/believe in him more than a life/because you turned away". The chorus then chimes in with her urging us to 'come on take off your mask of Moses/ and show us your face". It's a very eerie song and her fiddle playing in the background adds to the eerieness as well as giving the tune a bluesey feel.

With the track, 'Let Me In', we are lured in by a gentle bass accompanied by equally gentle strumming of the guitar. Then in a very soft, almost whispery fashion, Ms. Rodriguez uses very seductive lyrics. ""Tell me what gets you off/I don't mind if it's hard or soft." It appeared to me she's been taking lessons from her touring buddy Lucinda Williams on the use of her sometimes sultry lyrics. The song eventually introduces us, in between verses, to distorted and reverberated guitar chords that equally match the seductiveness of the lyrics.

'She Ain’t Me' was released in the U.S. and Canada by Manhattan/Back Porch (EMI) and was produced by Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Kaki King, etc.). Be on the lookout for the second single/video from the album, "Absence" will be released in early January.

I loved this record and look forward to hearing more from this young, classically trained, artist in the future.



Omar Kent Dykes
Big Town Playboy

Omar Kent Dykes, AKA Omar and the Howlers, from Austin, Texas USA has just come out with a solo endeavor appropriately, or maybe inappropriately entitled, Big Town Playboy. The record features the likes of Jimmie Vaughan, James Cotton, Lazy Lester, Lou Ann Barton, Gary Clark Jr, Derek Obrien, Ronnie James, and Wes Starr and is as good or better than expected. Considering the talent this album contains it’s exactly as it should be. Great!

This is certainly an album that should be obtained by any blues aficionado. To hell with that; anyone who loves music of any kind should have this record. If you don’t have it yet, stop cheating yourself and buy it. NOW!

I sat and listened to it straight through, which is nearly impossible to do around my house, considering I live with three dogs, a fifteen year old son and, of course my lovely wife, Cindy. However, once I started listening to it, I shut out the world around me and devoted all of my attention to this record. It is so good, I completely dedicated myself to it. The artists obviously did so why shouldn’t I?

I believe this record to be an instant blues classic. How could it not be with the caliber of the artists present on this record in conjunction with the artists who wrote the tunes selected to be on the album, it couldn’t miss. Composers such as Eddie Taylor, Otis “Smokey” Smothers, Don Robey, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Jerry West, James Moore, Ivory Joe Hunter, and George Crockett only help to elevate this record to the classic status it so very much deserves.

I’ve known about Omar Kent Dykes for years, but only knew him as Omar and the Howlers. It was sometime in the early 90’s on KNON 89.3 FM in Dallas, a non profit community radio station. They would spin some sort of the blues every day but I used to always settle in on a Friday night and listen to Don O. That is where I first heard Omar and the Howlers. I’ve been a fan ever since.

This record is all about blues and its roots. The rhythm is impeccable. The mouth harp is juicy and the lead blues guitar at its absolute best on every single cut. In most cases when I’m reviewing a record I’ll break it down and write about 3 or 4 songs on the record. Not this time. They are all great. If you love the blues or even if you don’t, I promise you will love this record.

Mr. Dykes voice is one that was created to sing the blues. His heart his soul and larynx and his fingers that pick away at his guitar are all connected. That is precisely how the blues work. Those dots must be connected or I don’t believe the “real” blues can be achieved. On this record, all of the dots are connected and an instant blues classic is born.
Please, do yourself a favor and go to your record store and purchase this record. You will not be sorry. And I’m sure Mr. Dykes will appreciate it as well. ‘Rebel’ Rod says to definitely, at this very moment, drop what ever it is you’re doing and check it out.



Handsome Family
Honey Moon

Rennie Sparks is a poet and Brett Sparks, her husband of 20 years, brings her poetry to life in the form of music. Together they are “Handsome Family” (handsomefamily.com). This song writing duo, possess a chemistry this writer would find very difficult to match.

From the opening track, ‘Linger, Let Me Linger’, we are drawn into their love for each other. The comparisons of their devotion to one another, “I am puddles in the street, waiting for your falling leaves”, draw us a picture of what it is like to live in their gothic, alternative country world of words and music. The lyrics to this tune tell us a lot about the duo. They are truly devoted to one another. The rhythmic, almost fifties, Floyd Cramerish sounding tinkering of the piano adds a David Lynchian quality, along with the somber sound of the cello bring it all together.

On the very next track, ‘Little Sparrows’, we are drawn in by an intensely traditional, country sounding, pedal steel guitar (the pedal steel guitar gets me every time). The rhythm of this song is also very traditional. The lyrics, however, are not. In this song they compare their love for each other to absolutely everything. “Oh, you paper cups rolling down the windy street Oh, you little ants winding through the tangled weeds Where you’re going I don’t care, take me with you when you go”. Devotion to one another is the theme, and by the end of the tune there is no question as to this devotion.

The fifth track on the record, and my personal favorite is, ‘The Loneliness of Magnets’. In this tune we are lured in by a soft snare and bass drum, closely followed by the whistling melody of the song and finally, Brett Sparks showing his baritone voice’s range. The song has a very 1920’s ragtime rhythm quality to it. The soft picking of the electric guitar further complements the tune. Ms. Sparks’ lyrics again are captivating and profound: “Wherever you are tonight as you close your eyes to sleep/Think of me as you drift away to the mist of silver dreams/And I will find you in the darkness where water turns to steam Your pull upon my heart could steer ten thousand wings”, followed by the chorus, “I feel the loneliness of magnets and trembling mountain peaks/I call you from dark valleys and I hear you echoing”. When you close your eyes and listen to these words and music, you can literally hear it all as if it were growing out of the ground.

The final track on the record is ‘Down in the Winding Corn Maze’. This song is Handsome Family at its best. The words are perfect and fit with the music to a tee. The acoustic guitar is absolutely beautiful and again, it seems to all grow right out from under your feet, out of the moist, musky earth. The lyrics are as beautiful as the music, “There in a swarm of bees I knelt down at her feet/Such spirals spread for miles through the bending leaves/And she took me to her arms in that cloud of honey bees/Whirring in their whirling as they rose on golden wings/Down in the winding corn maze where green stalks shiver in the wind”. Wow! This song very nearly left me without words to write. How can two people love each other so much? They are truly an inspiration to me, and will be to you as well. After listening to this record, I sought out my wife, and hugged her like I had never hugged her before.

I had the pleasure to do an interview with Ms. Sparks a few months back, where she responded to a question about their secret to longevity in marriage, “I think writing songs together has brought us a lot closer….” , and it shows on literally every track on Honey Moon.

Honey Moon is set for release this coming April 14th on Carrot Top Records (carrottoprecords.com) and is their 11th record to date. If you have one single romantic bone in your body you will buy this record. If you’re a fan of Handsome Family as I am, you will buy it simply because it is them. What ever the reason, I promise you this: You will not be disappointed.