Blitzen Trapper
Black River Killer EP
Released August 24th on Sub Pop Records
Portland, Oregon experimental, indie-folk sextet, Blitzen Trapper, broke through back in 2007, with their third independently-released album, Wild Mountain Nation. They would go onto bigger things by signing to the Sub Pop label and with the release of their follow-up album, Furr. Wild Mountain Nation received high praises from Pitchfork, Spin Magazine, and Rolling Stone, who named the title track #98 on their list of the year’s 100 Best Songs. With the release of Furr, Rolling Stone had a two-page feature on the band and album, which landed #13 on their list of Best Albums of 2008. The title track landed at #4 on the list of Best Singles of the Year, as well as being featured in the television series, Chuck.
Their latest, Black River Killer, is a collection of seven songs, six of which were previously unreleased. The title track was featured on the Furr album, while the other six songs were written during the Furr sessions. It’s one of the most solid collections of songs that Eric Earley and his band have put together, although it’s not exactly where you would want to begin if you’re not familiar with this band. It’s also kind of a surprise that any/all of these songs did not make the cut for the Furr album.
Other Artists I’d Recommend: Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Delta Spirit