Blog > Title: UNDERappreciated: Blitzen Trapper’s Furr

So, when looking for a lost classic this week, I found myself coming back to Blitzen Trapper, which is an obsession of mine lately. Now, while I must say this album is indeed a classic, it is far from lost at this point. I decided to call this one UNDERappreciated as a result. Heck, if this goes well, I may change the title of the column all together, ’cause why not? And, maybe it fits a little bit better (see my complaints on last week’s “Hundred Miles Off” post).

Anyway, with no further ado…

Blitzen Trapper should be huge. There is no reason why they shouldn’t in a world of Wilco fans, Ryan Adams fans, Fleet Foxes success stories (the Foxes first major tour was OPENING for B.T.), and hordes of quirky folk/country rock lovers. Take one listen to the title track of their 3rd album, first for Sub Pop, and you’ll know, these folks got it.

Wanna  see Wilco for twenty bucks rather than fifty? Buy a Blitzen Trapper ticket. Now, while that may not be entirely fair, there is something to be said for the sound and functional similarities of these two bands. Both bands have six members, a short, dark haired lead songwriter, a wild haired backing vocalist (although Wilco lost theirs), a mostly nineties-based style of alternative rock, and–most importantly–a sensibility for combining some of the most cutting-edge studio tricks with a keen sense of country and folk.

Their fourth album (note that Wilco’s fourth album was the critically-lauded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot), Blitzen Trapper masterfully alternate between galloping alternative country rockers, folk ballads, and Beatles-channeling pop tunes.  Maybe the reason the album hasn’t set fire to the music industry is the contrast between these two: the disruption in what could be a consistent flow of one or the other. Maybe. But more likely, it’s a vast oversight of the strength of these songs, the virtues of creating an album with diversity, and the sheer potential manifested here by a band that is clearly on the rise.

In case you haven’t been able to tell yet, I love this album.  And although it has garnered some very favorable reviews, I must say that it has been ultimately UNDERappreciated.

It’s virtually impossible for me to pick a favorite track, but here is one. It’s the excellent “Not Your Lover”, and it sounds like a leftover from After the Goldrush.  In other words, it’s very Neil Young in a very amazing way and is counted among the slower folk pop tunes that inhabit this album. Enjoy.

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