MOG

Other people have written about this second album from The Heartless Bastards, but let me just chime in: it's a monster. Significantly better than the already excellent Stairs and Elevators...much prettier production, more complicated arrangements, some piano...and still one of the great rock and roll voices of our time from Erika Wennerstrom. If you haven't heard her sing, it's hard to believe such a big sound comes out of such a tiny woman. Janis, Grace Slick, Plant....they're fair comparisons, she's got that much power. This time out, though, and maybe because I'm not as stunned by the voice, the songs themselves seem fuller, more considered, and with a little bit of psychedelic haze laid over them. I haven't spent much time with it yet, but it sounds like top ten to me.