Get ready, because Cincinnati’s Heartless Bastards have come out of the gates in 2009 swinging and ready to take on the new year. Their 3rd full length album, The Mountain is hitting store shelves next month from Fat Possum and everything I have heard so far I am really enjoying.

My first thoughts on the record are that is certainly has more of a folky feel to it, which will make it the Bastards most accessible album yet. This new song, (download below) is a great starter for the album and Erika’s vocals fall somewhere in the middle of her more rocking songs and the softer gentler ones, and it sounds really good!

Check it out and decide for yourself.

Heartless Bastards – The Mountain

For more tunes from the new record, you can pre-order it now from Fat Possum. But you can also snag some more songs from the Heartless Bastards WOXY.com session below as well.

Heartless Bastards – Wide Awake (Live On WOXY.com)
Heartless Bastards – So Quiet (Live On WOXY.com)
Heartless Bastards – Hold Your Head High (Live On WOXY.com)
Heartless Bastards – Could Be So Happy (Live On WOXY.com)

In addition, the band are hitting the road for a big tour, and will be supporting Andrew Bird, The Black Keys and others during thier dates. Check out the full slate after the jump….

01.30.09 – Young Ave Deli – Memphis, TN *
01.31.09 – Martyr’s – Chicago, IL *
02.03.09 – Great Scott – Boston, MA *
02.04.09 – Maxwell’s – Hoboken, NJ *
02.05.09 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA +
02.06.09 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY +
02.07.09 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY +
02.10.09 – Gravity Lounge – Charlottesville, VA *
02.12.09 – Bottle Tree – Birmingham, AL *
02.13.09 – Government Street Grocery – Ocean Springs, MS *
02.14.09 РLast Concert Caf̩ РHouston, TX *
02.28.09 – Hailey’s – Denton, TX *
03.15.09 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO
03.16.09 – Liberty Hall – Lawrence, KS
03.17.09 – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
03.18.09 – SXSW – Austin, TX
03.19.09 – SXSW – Austin, TX
03.20.09 – SXSW – Austin, TX
03.21.09 – House of Blues – Houston, TX
03.23.09 – Lyric Oxford – Oxford, MS
03.29.09 – Mr. Smalls – Pittsburgh, PA #
04.02.09 – Turner Hall – Milwaukee, WI #
04.03.09 – The Bottom Lounge – Chicago, IL #
04.04.09 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN #
04.07.09 – The Warehouse – Calgary, AB #
04.08.09 – The Starlight Room – Edmonton, AB #
04.10.09 – The Plaza Nightclub – Vancouver, BC #
04.15.09 – The Boardwalk – Sacramento, CA #
04.16.09 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA #
04.21.09 – The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ #
04.24.09 – Gothic Theater – Denver, CO #

* Heartless Bastards headlining
+ Show with The Black Keys
Show with Andrew Bird
# Show with Gaslight Anthem