The bands' story starts in Dayton, Ohio, where Wennerstrom found the name on a multiple choice video trivia game at a bar.
As a songwriting teenager during a time when Guided by Voices and Brainiac were packing local bars and three of the Breeders were still in town, Wennerstrom used to sneak into clubs to check out the scene. "I would just see those people—my music heroes—hanging out at the bar like everyone else," she remembers. "I could see myself in them. It gave me inspiration to do my own thing."
After doing the usual business of playing local shows, the trio set out the following year on a regional tour. One of the first gigs of the trip took them to a bar in Akron, where the Black Keys' drummer Patrick Carney just happened to be one of only a handful of people in the audience. This chance encounter led Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards to Fat Possum Records, with whom they released their debut, Stairs and Elevators, in early 2005.
The band moved on with critical praise in their back pocket, including a four-and-a-half star review from Rolling Stone, which took note that, when Wennerstrom “opens her throat on Stairs and Elevators … she sounds like she’s wailing on the shoulders of giants; her sad and angry vocals channeling all the swagger and spit of a young Robert Plant”
By whatever yardstick you care to measure, it was high time for Erika to get out of Dayton.
In true ascetic discipline, she moved to Austin, Texas in 2007 for a change of inspirational scenery and a new recording project. With the help of producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead), she assembled a group of musicians with whom she gave the songs life and uncovered yet another layer of Wennerstrom and the Heartless Bastards. Two of the new Bastards aren’t Texas ringers, but fellow Dayton brethren Dave Colvin on drums, and Jesse Ebaugh on bass, who actually played on the original demo that hooked Fat Possum, throw in one Austin native on guitar, Mark Nathan and you’ve got a new unstoppable force that “Take the stage and literally knock everybody down” – NY Times review of the Bastards SxSW record release performance.
The Decemberists’ guitarist Chris Funk said, "It's been a few years since I've had a voice on repeat in my mind. This voice seems to arrive in my ears while sound checking, often before the shows on a pre-show play list and after shows too -- the songs are just perfect and the band has found their spots behind this incredible woman. A unique and enduring artist arrived into our world once again."
The album, entitled The Mountain, (released February 2009) delivers the powerful howl that fans expect from the Heartless Bastards, but also weaves in adventure with mandolins, banjos, strings and Erika’s transcendent voice.
Brimming with confidence and creativity, The album Arrow (released February 2012) sees Heartless Bastards pushing their distinctive sound forward with their most eclectic, energetic collection thus far. The album – the Austin, Texas-based band’s first release with Partisan Records – is marked as ever by singer/guitarist/songwriter Erika Wennerstrom’s remarkable voice, at turns primal and pleading, heartfelt and heroic. Songs like “Parted Ways” and the searing “Low Low Low” expertly capture the Bastards’ multi-dimensional rock in all its strength and spirit. Following upon the difficult introspection of 2009′s acclaimed third album, The Mountain, Arrow stands as a powerhouse new beginning for Heartless Bastards.
“The Mountain was me going through some things after being in a relationship for nine years,” Wennerstrom says. ”This album is kind of like me being comfortable again.”
Out at Sea
Heartless Bastards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To escape from pain and for thrills
I walked around through the bottom of the ocean
I took a deep breath and drank through my gills
And I was searching for a mystery to hold onto
I had been sinking underneath the paper skies I drew
Oh, a rip, another tear, it all divides
I'm out at sea and I cannot stop the tide
I'm out in the water, I cannot stop the tide
I'm out at sea and I'm floating away
I'm out at sea and I"m floating away
Oh, this feeling, oh this feeling is pulling me down
Oh the current is pulling me out
Oh this feeling is pulling me down
Oh the current is pulling me out
Oh the current is pulling me out
The first verse of Heartless Bastards's song Out At Sea appears to be about running away from pain and seeking adventure. The singer has left their former life behind and moved to the "city of light" seeking thrills. However, they find themselves feeling lost and drowning in frustration. The metaphor of walking around the "bottom of the ocean" is an interesting one as it suggests that the singer feels out of their depth and overwhelmed by their surroundings. The line "I took a deep breath and drank through my gills" further cements the idea that the singer is struggling to adapt to their new life.
The chorus revolves around being out at sea and unable to control the tide. It is unclear whether this is a literal or metaphorical representation of the singer's situation, but either way, they feel powerless and adrift. The imagery of floating away and being pulled down by the current is evocative and highlights the sense of being lost and powerless.
Overall, the song seems to be about feeling lost and adrift, even when we think we have found what we are looking for. One can relate to the metaphor of being out at sea and feeling like the tide is beyond our control.
Line by Line Meaning
I packed up and headed to the city of light
I left my old life behind and moved to a new city seeking happiness and excitement.
To escape from pain and for thrills
I wanted to leave behind the pain of my past and pursue new adventures.
I walked around through the bottom of the ocean
I explored the deep, dark places of the city searching for something meaningful.
I took a deep breath and drank through my gills
I found new ways of living and adapting to my surroundings.
And I was searching for a mystery to hold onto
I was seeking something to give my life purpose and direction.
I had been sinking underneath the paper skies I drew
I had been living in a world of my own making, but it wasn't enough to sustain me.
Oh, a rip, another tear, it all divides
My life was falling apart, and I couldn't keep it all together.
And I am drowning, drowning in frustration
I am overwhelmed by my struggles and can't find a way out.
I'm out at sea and I cannot stop the tide
I'm adrift in life, and there's nothing I can do to change the course of events.
I'm out in the water, I cannot stop the tide
I'm at the mercy of life's currents, and I can't control what happens to me.
I'm out at sea and I'm floating away
I'm detached from my old life and drifting towards an uncertain future.
Oh, this feeling, oh this feeling is pulling me down
I'm weighed down by my emotions and struggles.
Oh the current is pulling me out
Life's currents are carrying me away from what I know and towards what I don't.
Oh the current is pulling me out
I'm being swept along by forces beyond my control.
Contributed by Evelyn R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.