Blitzen Trapper's Wild Mountain Nation
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When presented with an album like Blitzen Trapper’s Wild Mountain Nation, the question is not whether it’s good- it obviously is. The title track and songs like “Futures & Folly”, “Country Caravan”, “The Green King Sings”, which leave little excuse to not at least think of The Shins, reveal themselves to be accomplished pop tunes. Others like “Miss Spiritual Tramp” and “Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant’s Hem” reaffirm their deftness at stylizing a ragged brand of western style rock and roll. But the real conflict arises when the question settles on the album’s greatness and the overall value of the band’s effort. Not despite the nature of its goodness, but because of it, the album feels almost too safe, limiting itself from becoming great, not just good. Which is to say there is little here the band has taken a risk on: they have certainly put forth that which they are good at, but they haven’t put themselves too forward; they’ve placed themselves too close to reenactment, albeit masterful. And this is the impression not because theirs is a sound perfected so long ago that much of it has come to be known as classic; but maybe because, unlike Kings of Leon who sound as if they either weren’t aware of other music styles or that they were misled to believe they discovered theirs when they wrote Youth & Young Manhood, Blitzen Trapper’s choice is deliberate, hand-picked from the rest. They seem, nevertheless, not too intent on being confined by it.
Upcoming date:
07/25/07 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge w/ David Vandervelde ($)
