BLITZEN TRAPPER
''AMERICAN GOLDWING''
SEPTEMBER 13 2011
37:43
1. Might Find It Cheap/3:12
2. Fletcher/3:27
3. Love The Way You Walk Away/3:40
4. Your Crying Eyes/3:01
5. My Home Town/2:39
6. Girl In A Coat/3:39
7. American Goldwing/3:09
8. Astronaut/4:05
9. Taking It Easy Too Long/2:56
10. Street Fighting Sun/4:39
11. Stranger In A Strange Land/3:17
All Tracks By Eric Earley
REVIEW
by James Christopher Monger
After nearly a decade of flirtation, Blitzen Trapper finally took the plunge and dove headfirst into the lake in crafting American Goldwing, a straight-up, mid-'70s inspired Southern rock album that fuses the Saturday night swagger of Lynyrd Skynyrd with the stoic peasantry of The Band. Similar in sound and feel to fellow Pacific Northwesterners the Decemberists’ King is Dead, but sporting a darker patina of authenticity (which is odd, considering neither group has roots in the deep south), American Goldwing comes out of the gate howling with “Might Find It Cheap,” a taut and infectious, summer boot-stomper that sounds tailor-made to buckle the speakers in a second generation Pontiac Firebird. What follows is a lovingly balanced set of rural rockers (“Street Fighting Sun”) and dirt road ballads (“Girl in a Coat”) that sound about as far from the murky introspection of 2010’s Destroyer of the Void as one would expect from a band that continuously tries to reinvent themselves within their own psych-folk/alt-country/indie rock universe, and almost always succeeds.
BIOGRAPHY
by Kenyon Hopkin Blitzen Trapper's music went through various genres with each record, bouncing from indie folk to art rock to experimental folk before settling into a rich, dusty brand of Neil Young-inspired alt country. The band formed in 2000 in Portland, Oregon, with songwriter Eric Earley leading a lineup that also included Erik Menteer (guitar, keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums, vocals), Michael Van Pelt (bass), Drew Laughery (keyboard), and Marty Marquis (keyboard, vocals). Before signing a record contract in 2007, the band released three albums on its own dime: an eponymous effort in 2003, Field Rexx in 2005, and the highly acclaimed Wild Mountain Nation in 2007. The latter album landed the group a record deal with Sub Pop.
With Sub Pop's help, the group hit a creative peak with 2008's Furr, a collection of 13 songs that found Blitzen Trapper boiling down its many influences into a cohesive, unique Americana sound. The Black River Killer EP followed in 2009, and the group spent part of that year working on a new full-length release, which arrived one year later in the form of Destroyer of the Void. When it came time to record the band's third Sub Pop release, American Goldwing, Blitzen Trapper opened the studio doors to outside collaborators for the first time, with Tchad Blake mixing the record and Gregg Williams co-producing. Musically, though, the guys kept things entirely within the family, reaching back to their '70s country and Southern rock influences without losing their contemporary appeal.
''AMERICAN GOLDWING''
SEPTEMBER 13 2011
37:43
1. Might Find It Cheap/3:12
2. Fletcher/3:27
3. Love The Way You Walk Away/3:40
4. Your Crying Eyes/3:01
5. My Home Town/2:39
6. Girl In A Coat/3:39
7. American Goldwing/3:09
8. Astronaut/4:05
9. Taking It Easy Too Long/2:56
10. Street Fighting Sun/4:39
11. Stranger In A Strange Land/3:17
All Tracks By Eric Earley
REVIEW
by James Christopher Monger
After nearly a decade of flirtation, Blitzen Trapper finally took the plunge and dove headfirst into the lake in crafting American Goldwing, a straight-up, mid-'70s inspired Southern rock album that fuses the Saturday night swagger of Lynyrd Skynyrd with the stoic peasantry of The Band. Similar in sound and feel to fellow Pacific Northwesterners the Decemberists’ King is Dead, but sporting a darker patina of authenticity (which is odd, considering neither group has roots in the deep south), American Goldwing comes out of the gate howling with “Might Find It Cheap,” a taut and infectious, summer boot-stomper that sounds tailor-made to buckle the speakers in a second generation Pontiac Firebird. What follows is a lovingly balanced set of rural rockers (“Street Fighting Sun”) and dirt road ballads (“Girl in a Coat”) that sound about as far from the murky introspection of 2010’s Destroyer of the Void as one would expect from a band that continuously tries to reinvent themselves within their own psych-folk/alt-country/indie rock universe, and almost always succeeds.
BIOGRAPHY
by Kenyon Hopkin Blitzen Trapper's music went through various genres with each record, bouncing from indie folk to art rock to experimental folk before settling into a rich, dusty brand of Neil Young-inspired alt country. The band formed in 2000 in Portland, Oregon, with songwriter Eric Earley leading a lineup that also included Erik Menteer (guitar, keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums, vocals), Michael Van Pelt (bass), Drew Laughery (keyboard), and Marty Marquis (keyboard, vocals). Before signing a record contract in 2007, the band released three albums on its own dime: an eponymous effort in 2003, Field Rexx in 2005, and the highly acclaimed Wild Mountain Nation in 2007. The latter album landed the group a record deal with Sub Pop.
With Sub Pop's help, the group hit a creative peak with 2008's Furr, a collection of 13 songs that found Blitzen Trapper boiling down its many influences into a cohesive, unique Americana sound. The Black River Killer EP followed in 2009, and the group spent part of that year working on a new full-length release, which arrived one year later in the form of Destroyer of the Void. When it came time to record the band's third Sub Pop release, American Goldwing, Blitzen Trapper opened the studio doors to outside collaborators for the first time, with Tchad Blake mixing the record and Gregg Williams co-producing. Musically, though, the guys kept things entirely within the family, reaching back to their '70s country and Southern rock influences without losing their contemporary appeal.
