Why you should check them out:

Essentially the creation of singer/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom, The Heartless Bastards are a unique incarnation of rock and roll, acutely depicted through the passionate wail of Wennerstrom’s raspy and powerful vocals.

Background Check:

The Heartless Bastards are, and always will be a rock band. Even before playing SXSW with the Avett Brothers and the Decemberists in 2009, Heartless Bastards were a rock band. Even before blues man Patrick Carney of the Black Keys passed their demo along to his label, Fat Possum Records, resulting in two critically acclaimed albums of driving rock and soul angst, conceived and powered by Erika Wennerstrom. The Heartless Bastards have always been a rock band, whether it’s in the great state of Ohio where they began or in Austin Texas, where they now reside. Whether it’s as a four piece or three, depending on the front woman’s needs in the studio or on the road. Even when Wennerstrom, as a teenager, was sneaking into clubs and practicing guitar, the Heartless Bastards was there, in her mind, a rock band through and through.

The now reformed trio, is and will continue to be that loud force who can take on the world with a perfect assortment of brash exuberance and cathartic weight. The Heartless Bastard’s sound has earned labels from garage rock to roots rock and everything in between, but really, these genres only stand as embellishments to their pure rock and roll sound, nothing more is needed. Their latest album, The Mountain, sharpens and expands the work of their previous two releases to incorporate the sounds of banjo, mandolin, piano, and various guest artists, but it is Wennerstrom still front and center, full of vigor and life, eschewing simple pop ballads and unnecessary experimentation for what she does best.

Where you can find them in cyberspace:

MySpace

Heartless Bastards Website

Wikipedia

On Tour:

JamBase