Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Heartless Bastards are ostensibly the vehicle for the songwriting and voice of Erika Wennerstrom. On this, their third album, she relocated to Austin, Texas and with the guiding production hand of Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail Of Dead) and a new rhythm section she put together The Mountain.

Caught between genres is both a dilemma and an interesting position to be in for Wennerstrom. On first listen there is an overriding garage blues rock sound with Led Zeppelin and White Stripes undertones. As the ears settle into the record there are definite diversions from that template with traditional American influences appearing in the instrumentation and the emergence of different tones and colour in Wennerstrom’s vocal delivery. The stomping drums and heavy lazy guitar take a back seat, allowing the listener to take in more varied sounds such as pedal steel, banjo, mandolin and timpani. On the nearly eight minute ‘Witchypoo’ we get an extended back half of the song that takes us on a middle eastern journey with violin and banjo creating a mystical mantra groove reminiscent of Dirty Three.

Wennerstrom’s voice is without doubt the centrepiece of The Mountain. It is their strongest asset and McCarthy has done a great job to ensure she remains front and centre throughout the album. The songs all have a breathing space within them, even when the density of guitars and cymbals increase and it is this room that allows her voice to retain the focus it deserves. Wennerstrom has a confidence and strength to her voice that initially brings to mind PJ Harvey, but then as we climb the mountain we slowly uncover a changing terrain with frailty and glorious rough edges appearing. On a song like ‘So Quiet’ she comes across like a sister to Karen Dalton or more recently Jolie Holland. The toughness is taken out of her voice and replaced with a gentler lilt and sway and it works well.

When she gets the right balance of swagger and melody the songs feel much more complete. ‘Out At Sea’ has a great catchy verse and appropriately edgy guitars that propel it along with a necessary urgency and a Breeders type energy. The title track is probably the strongest on the album and sits most comfortably with the mood they are trying to create. A weeping pedal steel ensures a rural feel and the vocals are more restrained than elsewhere on the record. The track hits that sweet spot where, like many Neil Young songs, it could keep rolling on endlessly with the same chords swirling into the distance without any feeling they are overstaying their welcome.

This is a refreshingly simple and clean sounding album that deserves to be heard yet the nature of the music may see it be missed by many music fans. It sits on a fence between indie and bluesy American rock without quite having the goods to capture an audience in either. Those who appreciate the likes of Drive By Truckers, Sleater Kinney or Lucinda Williams will all find much to like on The Mountain but it may be a little too remote and barren for many others to make the journey.