Cincinnati three-piece Heartless Bastards virtually came out of nowhere last year to release Stairs and Elevators, a supernova of Southern Rock and one of the best debut albums of 2005. All This Time is their quick follow-up and how relived I am to tell you readers that Heartless Bastards are far from being a one trick pony.

Lead singer Erika Wennerstrom still wails like some offspring that Ian Astbury of The Cult and Patti Smith unknowingly created one drunken evening. When she repeatedly bellows the line "We never look back!" during the monstrous "Finding Solutions," you feel it vibrating down to your very soul. Wennerstrom isn't all roars however. She has that cunning instinct for knowing when less is more. The quieter moments of "Searching For the Ghost" or "I Swallowed a Dragonfly" are more reminiscent of Chan Marshall from Cat Power than anything. The fine line Wennerstrom treads between finesse and fury bestows upon the band a sheer breathtaking quality similar to tickling a wild tiger behind its ears. Savage grace, guitar, drums and bass.

Don't let the band name fool you folks, this trio is all heart and with any luck they'll have more timeless classics to tickle our ears for years to come.