The Mountain shares little in common with its predecessors All This Time and Stairs and Elevators. Where these latter titles are stripped-down affairs documenting Heartless Bastards’ bare-knuckled, heartland-brand of indie-bar-rock, the group’s new album is sprawling, varied and utterly ambitious. In addition to the heavy jams we’ve come to expect from the group, there are British folk-inspired anthems (“Had To Go”), singer-songwriter lullabies (“So Quiet”) and proggy throw downs (“Wide Awake”). The one and only constant is Erika Wennerstrom’s voice, a gnarled chunk of beauty that draws you into her soul before spitting you back out. And don’t forget: as good as The Mountain is, Heartless Bastards are always 100 times better live. They’ve been known to put on some truly epic shows in terms of raw emotion and pure grit. Photo courtesy Cambria Harkey.

Sat., April 11, 8 p.m., 2009