Arrow
by Heartless Bastards
  • Record Label: Partisan
  • Release Date: Feb 14, 2012
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 20
  3. Negative: 1 out of 20
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Feb 14, 2012
    91
    Arrow is the Bastards' best album to date.
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Feb 16, 2012
    89
    Heartless Bastards return not as they started, but as an undeniable and tightly controlled force of nature.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Feb 14, 2012
    88
    Arrow sounds like the work of a top-tier singer who also is developing into a formidable songwriter.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    Feb 14, 2012
    83
    The Austin garage stalwarts' barroom stompers and country-inflected ballads are elevated to another league by the strident yet emotionally nuanced vocals of front-woman Erika Wennerstrom. [17 Feb 2012, p.72]
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  6. No Ripcord
    Mar 12, 2012
    80
    Overall, Arrow is the quintessential Heartless Bastards album to date.
  7. Paste Magazine
    Feb 14, 2012
    80
    Wennerstrom has said that this is the most cohesive that they have been as a band when recording an album, and the evidence couldn't be more abundant.
  8. AllMusic
    Feb 14, 2012
    80
    Arrow is a brave and powerful work from an artist who isn't about to give up on her vision, regardless of where it takes her.
  9. cokemachineglow
    Mar 13, 2012
    74
    Arrow, the band's fourth album, doesn't differ significantly from their prior efforts, though the fiddle and pedal steel flourishes of 2009's rootsy The Mountain have been largely excised in favor of more hot shit guitar soloing care of new recruit Mark Nathan.
  10. Uncut
    Dec 11, 2012
    70
    The fourth album finds them touting a tougher sound with the addition of a second guitar, but the strident, passionate voice of Erika Wennerstrom remains their calling card. [Jan 2013, p.77]
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  11. Magnet
    Mar 16, 2012
    70
    Wennerstom's voice marvelously leapfrogs between piercing highs and baritone lows, and bassist Jesse Ebaugh carries "Late in the Night" like a subdued, sober and shirted Mel Schacher, though Arrow's languid pace may turn off those who like their rock a bit more rocking. [No. 85, p.55]
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  12. Blurt Magazine
    Feb 22, 2012
    70
    While it's hard to shake Heartless Bastards' unforgettable prior release The Mountain (2009), Arrow is indeed pointed in the right direction with a fresh sound.
  13. PopMatters
    Feb 22, 2012
    70
    There seem to be some tough days of contemplation and reckoning involved in its creation, but the end result is utterly triumphant.
  14. Consequence
    Feb 16, 2012
    70
    After her third lineup shuffle in as many albums, Wennerstrom has finally found a perfect counterpoint to her own remarkable voice.
  15. American Songwriter
    Feb 15, 2012
    70
    Before Arrow, I thought I liked this band; I thought I liked them a lot, even. Having seen this new side, though, a better word would be "love."
  16. Rolling Stone
    Feb 14, 2012
    70
    Her band's crushing fourth LP sets the quartet alongside Ohio kin the Black Keys as front-line blues-rock modernists.
  17. Prefix Magazine
    Feb 21, 2012
    65
    on Arrow, it's more fun when they swagger around like the road-tested ramblers they've become.
  18. Pitchfork
    Feb 15, 2012
    64
    They've developed a larger musical vocabulary, but the results can be cumbersome.
  19. Under The Radar
    Mar 22, 2012
    60
    "Got to Have Rock and Roll" is as fierce a rock statement as they've recorded. [Mar 2012, p.89]
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  20. Boston Globe
    Feb 14, 2012
    60
    The ballads that dominate the disc's second half give her too much room to savor her elongated vowels and gulped consonants, contorting the words so much their meaning becomes indistinct.
  21. Delusions of Adequacy
    Feb 21, 2012
    20
    This is a grating, difficult, unsatisfying album.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. mica32j
    Feb 20, 2012
    10
    How to succeed in the music business is increasing difficult for indie groups like the Heartless Bastards. How about following up theirHow to succeed in the music business is increasing difficult for indie groups like the Heartless Bastards. How about following up their breakout album with something even better & then tour the hell out to spread the word. That is exactly what they are doing, old school.

    Where "The Mountain", trekked the path of folk rock, "The Arrow" takes the gritter road of in your face rock and roll. What is most impressive about this album is that the music is not overshadowed by Erika's vocals but equally compliments. And they are not afraid to show off, with six of the ten tracks pushing five minutes plus. Add to mix the increasingly strong song writing and you have something very very special. Think about what Janis Joplin would sound like if she grew up listening to Neil Young and Led Zeppelin and you have this album. Check out the tour dates for this band & see them perform what I consider their best album to date.    … Full Review »
  2. MattyFatCat
    Mar 21, 2013
    10
    Gritty, soulful, thoughtful songs well-executed throughout; the band feels tightest it's ever been, like they've grown together. ErikaGritty, soulful, thoughtful songs well-executed throughout; the band feels tightest it's ever been, like they've grown together. Erika Wennerstrom is a highly competent, underrated songwriter. "Got To Have Rock And Roll", "Low Low Low", "Marathon" all remind us that folk-type music can still rock hard. (For my money in 2012, this LP beat AB Shakes' "Boys & Girls" by a mile...and it wasn't even that close.)… Full Review »
  3. MIKALE
    Jan 20, 2013
    8
    Brilliant album, very solid effort with only one or two tracks I'd consider as ordinary. There's a few great rock tunes but It's the slowerBrilliant album, very solid effort with only one or two tracks I'd consider as ordinary. There's a few great rock tunes but It's the slower tracks I really warmed too from this one. "Low Low Low" is a sweet little folk tune, some great banjo-Americana awesomeness matched with Erika Wennerstrom's roughish vocals makes me day dream of open roads and endless grassy fields. "Only for You" makes be stop and swoon. I'm new to the band and look forward to back tracking to their previous efforts. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.… Full Review »
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