Portland, OR's Blitzen Trapper have built a strong portfolio that traverses the dusty back roads of the American musical experience, combining the well-aged sounds of the 60s and 70s into a robust and exciting brand of modern indie rock. While they began in 2000 by paying homage to these sounds of the past they later branched out and showed a willingness to explore. 2007's Wild Mountain Nation saw them becoming more ambitious, a trend that continued over the following two albums, 2008's folk-rock beauty Furr and 2010's prog-inflected Destroyer of the Void. The question for album #6, American Goldwing, was where to now? How big would the next step be?
For Blitzen Trapper the answer was simple, literally, as they make a return to the roots of their sound. The synths and other ephemera from Destroyer of the Void are gone, and in their place are a solid bunch of songs, straight up rockers through and through. With the opening guitar squelch of "Might Find it Cheap", Goldwing triumphantly announces it's arrival along with one of the album’s best lines, 'You might find it cheap but you're never gonna find it for free'. From then on the quintet is dead set on paying their respects to the likes of Dylan and Skynyrd.
:Fletcher" and "Love the Way You Walk Away" are the most Dylanesque songs here, with front man Eric Earley donning his best storyteller guise. On "Your Crying Eyes" and "Street Fighting Sun" the muddiness of the south bubbles up to the surface, while closing track "Stranger in a Strange Land" is a neat little acoustic number. Earley's vocals are the uniting thread that tie everything together into a tight, well executed whole, and as with their previous material the band once again showcases a knack for making tunes that feel like big, wide open spaces. If Furr gave one the urge to throw on a flannel shirt and head for the woods, then Goldwing will prompt the listener to explore the open road (as the album cover might suggest), maybe on a Honda Gold Wing?
Yet, for all the skill Blitzen Trapper puts on display throughout the album, and for all the remote, big sky the music conjures up, this is some pretty well worn territory, and when making a modern alt-rock record a band puts themselves squarely in the same zone as kingpins like Wilco and Ryan Adams. If put alongside artists like that Goldwing doesn’t stand out as a groundbreaking record or something very of the moment, it simply adds a nice layer to a thoroughly represented segment of the indie rock world. Still, in the ever changing blur of independent music, where everyone seems to want to reinvent themselves from one recording to the next it is somewhat comforting to hear a band get back to what they do best. As familiar as this album may sound the love and care the band put into recording it, and the fun they had making it come through loud and clear.
- Stephen Dobek
Rating: B-
Blitzen Trapper - American Goldwing by subpop
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