Local band: Heartless Bastards

The progression of bands is omnipresent in every aspect of their existence. Their manner of dress, their interviews, and of course: their music.

Take, for instance, Heartless Bastards.

The band, which isn't so much a band as it is Erika Wennerstrom and whomever she decides to let be a Heartless Bastard, has been a perpetual indie blues/garage/country rock up-and-comer for years. But with a label change, from the blues rock mainstay Fat Possum Records to the more art-rock Partisan Records, came what seems to be more freedom to experiment with a variety of genres.

Their fourth record (due out 2/14/12), "Arrow" is the spawn of this approach.

The record doesn't evolve naturally. The opening track, "Marathon," the cleanest sounding track on the album, plays the role of the conventional, one-per-album ballad…or at least one that could serve the purpose of such. However, the finale track, "Down in the Canyon," is much more akin to the Bastards' style, leaving the listener pleasantly confused as to which song would be more appropriate to hold a lighter and sway to.

"The Arrow and the Beast" is a John Ford western, combined with My Morning Jacket-esque guitar riffs, and grilled on a barbeque in West Texas. At sunset…In August. This spaghetti-western feel is recurrent in the album, and harkens back to the writing process, when Wennerstrom spent much time in solitary places like West Texas and the Catskills penning new material for "Arrow."

Concerning the demand for singles on an album, this role is played by "Parted Ways," and later "Late in the Night." While not as catchy as the casual fans would demand, these songs are the hooks that snag media attention and new fans, as singles are wont to do.

The intricacies of Wennerstrom's voice are remarkable. She does not possess a conventionally beautiful voice; often reverting to a growl. But her singing matches the dirty, bluesy, boozy sound that the Bastards are known for. But at times she becomes a falsetto, like on "Only for You," when her voice seems at its most vulnerable.

One listen to "Arrow" is simply not enough; it grows with each play. Like Wennerstrom's album, it's not conventionally beautiful, but an example of the artistic progression of a perpetually up-and-coming blues rock outfit.