“Blitzen Trapper” are a six-piece indie rock band based in Portland, Oregon. They are Eric Earley (Vocals and Guitar), Erik Menteer (Guitar and Keyboard/Piano), Brian Adrian Koch (Drums and Vocals), Michael VanPelt (Bass), Drew Laughery (Keyboards/Piano) and Marty Marquis (Guitars, Keyboard and Vocals). Blitzen Trapper was formed in year 2000 and to date, they have released four full length albums. Their music genres are mainly experimental, indie rock, and folk rock.
I really had a good time with Furr. Blitzen Trapper just made themselves sound so unique. Think of modern country combined with rock ‘n’ roll, i bet you’ll have a good time. And a little bit of cowboy influence.
Furr opened with the rather unforgettable “Sleepytime In The Western World”. This song doesn’t really have a chorus, the only thing that made it so special is Eric’s singing and the music that follows through, especially the piano and the percussions. “Your eyelids are made of lead, you can’t keep them up, because it’s sleepytime, and that’s no crime in the western world…” Blitzen Trapper already showed what they’re capable of.
I like the guitar hooks of “Gold For Bread”, especially in the verse where it has the rock ‘n’ roll and good-time quality. Eric also did a good job here with his singing, though i find the chorus slightly funny, “Because i’m running from the end, yeah and it’s inside of my head, on my bed with a lead for the leg, we’re trading gold for bread…” The break also contains some cute sounds which you would normally find on arcade games. But hey, Gold For Bread is really good! Way to go Blitzen Trapper.
“Furr” is like a lovely summer track, where it tells the story of a boy turning into a wolf (Based on the lyrics). It sounds fairy-tale like if you listen to the song. I can even imagine Eric strumming his guitar and singing to Furr. This track is more like those where you would hear in an unplugged jam session. And throughout Furr, Eric sings effortlessly and full of emotion. No wonder Blitzen Trapper decided to name this album, “Furr”.
“God & Suicide” is like a slower tempo version of Gold For Bread. And i have to say, it might even be better than Gold For Bread. The music in this track just got it together, and after every verse, Blitzen Trapper will do the howlings together, “Whoo…”. The bass stands out the most here where it’s very consistent and most of all, simple and memorable.
“Fire & Fast Bullets” sounds promising once it opened. The verse is for tempo-building and when the chorus comes, Blitzen Trapper will do their stuffs. Half singing along with Eric, the other harmonized it with their voices. I just like it when they go, “Oh, oh oh…”. Nonetheless, Fire & Fast Bullets is firing me up.
“Saturday Nite” crazily good! I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s really good. If you’re having a down weekend or bad saturday, stop everything and listen to Saturday Nite now! You’ll thank me later. The whole track feels so light, the piano just get on with it, the drums follow, the vocals comes on and off just like that… Awesome stuff here!
“Black River Killer” is more like a modern country rap rock track. Can’t help but imagine Blitzen Trapper on stage moving their bodies and do the things a rapper would do. Just so hilarious! On this track, Eric can be heard singing as if he’s speaking. And the “squeaking” music that comes on after each paragraph of verse, fits in perfectly.
Blitzen Trapper takes a different note on ballad “Not Your Lover”. The main instrument here is piano and Blitzen Trapper make sure that they do well even if without guitars and drums. From the lyrics, this song carries a sad aspect with it. “In my sleep, i’m not your lover anymore, when i wake, i have to remind myself, that i’m lying on your shore…” Anyway, it’s a good effort!
“Love U” is a loud draggy rock track! Besides those loud draggy music, Eric is also having a hard time adjusting his voice in this track and at some points, he screeches heavily. As this track goes, it gets softer near the end. Honestly, i don’t think Blitzen Trapper is comfortable singing Love U.
“War On Machines” brings the whole album back to normal and Blitzen Trapper is again doing what they’re best at, having fun and rock ‘n’ rolling. The guitar on this track has some explosive quality with it. During the verse, it keeps looping until i find it resembles “Hair Don’t Grow” by Annuals. Blitzen Trapper managed to rock this song out and still keep the country element in it.
It’s funny how “Stolen Shoes & A Rifle” sounds like ”Good Arms vs. Bad Arms” by Scottish band Frightened Rabbit at the beginning. It started off with a few instruments at a steady pace before sounding fuller after the first chorus. Later into this track, Blitzen Trapper can be heard choiring. It may not be their best, but it’s still a great effort by them.
“Echo/Always On/EZ Con” has three different parts. Normally a track like this should have been the closing track of an album. The first part of this song is a melodic piano ballad where i love the flute that is being played at some points. The second part sounds like a malfunctioned photocopying machine, which i think is quite weird. Lastly, it’s the dance-like instrumental which showcases the sound of a flute and how good it can be. I find the last part very good, and i always fast-forward this track to this part. Enjoy!
The final track on Furr is the acoustic “Lady On The Water”. It has some really nice melody but what i like the most is the piano that comes after each verse. Since Eric is busy playing the guitar and singing, the piano sort of let Eric take a short rest before continuing singing. Just a nice and warm finish to Furr! Lovely!
Rating: Furr continues from Wild Mountain Nation like a successor. Both albums fare really good and contain some good music for their fans and even new listeners who just starting to explore their music. Fans of country rock are really recommended to add Blitzen Trapper to their music shelves as the music written and composed by them are a new era of country rock where you could hear it clearly in Furr, and even Wild Mountain Nation. Until today, i don’t fancy country music, but Blitzen Trapper has made some really good music here. A very, very good job of modernizing country music so that younger generation like me enjoy it. There was no regret at all for trying Furr, it instantly became one of my favourite albums in 2008. I really like Furr, therefore i’m giving it 7.6 out of 10.
Stand-Out Tracks (My Picks): Sleepytime In The Western World, Gold For Bread, Furr, God & Suicide, Saturday Nite, Black River Killer, War On Machines and Echo/Always On/EZ Con.
Cheers!
Darren Tan
Indiesurf.com
Darren Tan is a huge avid fan of indie music, indie bands and indie artists. Since he was 17 years old, he started to fall in love with the indie music scene. It was a total turning point in his life for him as he no longer look at the indie music industry the same since.
With Indiesurf.com he wants to share his thoughts, comments, reviews and opinions on the latest (and past/old) indie music, indie bands and indie artists with the world and you. You are also invited to share your views as well, so he’ll see you at Indiesurf.com.
