There is something magical about the convergence of country, folk, blues & rock music in 1970. Classic albums like The Rolling Stones’ “Let It Bleed,” Elton Johns’ “Tumbleweed Connection” and Derek & the Dominos’ “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” were floating on the airwaves, all with toes fully dipped in the waters of rural styles alongside the urban sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, embodying the ever-increasing cross-pollination of pop music genres. Jump forward forty years and that sound still resonates with many young musicians and their fans. Blitzen Trapper is one such band, as their new album, American Goldwing clearly shows.
Centered around Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter Eric Earley, Blitzen Trapper tap into that rural/urban musical dichotomy and spin foot-stompin’ tales of love lost and found, couched in the poetic language of rustic Arcadia and nostalgia. Songs like “Love the Way You Walk Away,” “My Home Town” and the title cut speak to a golden-hued riverside, with a summer day spent lazing on a tire swing. Like My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses and their Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper twang as much as they rock, but roll on all the same.
-- By Eric J. Lawrence, KCRW Music Host and DJ
American Goldwing will be available to stream on demand from August 29 through September 27, 2011. The album will be released on Tuesday, September 13, 2011.
Artist website: http://www.blitzentrapper.net/
Track listing
1. Might Find It Cheap
2. Fletcher
3. Love the Way You Walk Away
4. Your Crying Eyes
5. My Home Town
6. Girl In a Coat
7. American Goldwing
8. Astronaut
9. Taking It Easy Too Long
10. Street Fighting Sun
11. Stranger In a Strange Land