Blitzen Trapper - Furr [Sub Pop 2008]

Deconstructing Blitzen Trapper's fourth release to this or that similar sound would come easy, but doesn't detract from the arrangement's righteous edge. After a few weeks of Furr filling the background during urban transit and errand runs I have brought this one into the house for a closer listen. My first response is uncorrupted happiness. A sort of audio feather to my ears. It's not inducing me to sing-a-long or hum. I don't remember even smiling to myself. The goodness revolves inside my mind. The music is textured and layered with a breath of life. It's playful and hopeful. It's spacial, earthy and driven.

The studio production is immaculate and quirky sounds and beats fill every corner of each track. I wonder if the tunes can be done live. If not, that's OK. The vocals blend smoothly with fitful guitar jams, melodic Hammond organ and biotic soundscapes of bells, whistles, steel guitar and bohemianite accents. The mood is the soundtrack to the scene outside my kitchen window.

And yes, lyrics abound within the composting gears of Furr's audio-gram. At times religious overtones surface amid the mire, time-travel and brevity. Honestly, I don't care to decode the meaning in the words except to reveal there is a subtle message of roving exploration. When listening I find myself falling in and out of the lyrics owing that the orchestration is so absorbing.

Blitzen Trapper formed in 2000 and works out of an old telegraph building in Portland, Oregon. Their first three CD's were self-released on Lidkercow Ltd. Furr is their first venture with Seattle, WA Sub Pop. The 2007 release of Wild Mountain Nation wheeled widespread attention and no doubt opened Sub Pop's wallet. Blitzen Trapper is Eric Earley (guitar, vocals, songwriter and producer), Brian Adrian Koch (drums, vocals), Erik Menteer (guitar, keyboard), Drew Laughery (keyboards), Michael VanPelt, (bass), and Marty Marquis (guitar, keyboards, vocals).

If you're keen to exploring without travel and see vivid colorized shapes from your personalized porthole you will enjoy all 39 minutes of this release. Note worthy tracks; "Furr", "War on Machines", "Black River Killer".

Blitzen Trapper is currently on a European/US tour in support of the September 2008 release of Furr.

J Niemoth October 2008