Customer Reviews

Furr

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Whereas "Wild Mountain Nation" was erratic and thus all over the place musically, "Furr" is the band at it's most stable. Over 13 tracks the band flies through a perfect blend of 60s and 70s throwbacks while always putting their own unique touch on every track. The main influences seem to be 60s and 70s classic rock, notably CSNY and Neil Young with a touch of the Elephant 6 Collective: melodic, organic and always engaging it is easily one of the best albums of 2008. I've had it for two days and haven't taken it out of the rotation...actually, I just keep hitting repeat, which these days is quite the rare occurence for me.

Highly recommended for any indie fans. Enjoy.

"Wild Mountain Nation" was a great introduction to a potentially great band. If anything brought it down it was the spaces in between highlights. At times they sounded erratic, grasping for a sound and relying more on noise than on foundation, but they created a wonderful work of art. What Blitzen Trapper does on "Furr" is eliminate the erratic in-between moments and stick to what they do best - playing rock that sounds like it came out of the wilderness.

They're the lovechild of the Grateful Dead and the Kinks. My first few listens of "Furr" weren't that impressive, and I was about to give up. Something made me keep listening, and then something just clicked. One of the initial things I noticed about "Furr" was their elimination of the erratic moments from "Wild Mountain Nation" and their increased focus on the strengths, and to an extent that nearly ruined "Furr." It almost felt like a template for success, an equation, something I shy away from, but with a few more listens under my belt I'm absolutely hooked. This is a great record. The title track is beautiful, and Neil Young wishes he could sing "Not Your Lover." Give a band time to grow and figure out what they do well. The proof is in the pudding. "Furr" is delicious. I'm glad they didn't just record "Wild Mountain Nation" again, because that would be boring.

Furr is the successor to the excellent Wild Mountain Nation and in some ways is superior to it. The album opens with Sleepytime In The Western World. This is excellent stuff. The keyboards and vocals are reminiscent of Badfinger at their best. Next up is Gold For Bread - a cornucopia of styles from glam rock to country rock. Sounds like T-Rex, Creedence and Neil Young rolled into one. The song Furr is an acoustic ballad about a man who becomes a werewolf. Very intelligent lyrics. God & Suicide calls to mind Badfinger again. It's one of the strongest songs on the album. Fire & Fast Bullets is fast and frenetic. It has shades of T-Rex and Roxy Music in it as well as Super Furry Animals. Saturday Nite is another Badfinger type of song. Great piano and banjo here. Black River Killer is another intelligent ballad. The subject matter is perfectly described in the title. It's another great tune. Not Your Lover sounds like it belongs on Neil Young's After The Goldrush. I believe that Neil Young himself is on record as saying that he wishes he wrote it. Love U for me is the weakest track on the album. I find it grates on my ears a bit. War On Machines is another classic. It's a mix of glam rock and country. Stolen Shoes & A Rifle is a fantastic country ballad. Echo/Always On/EZ Con - three songs in one all in just over three minutes. It shows how good the band are. Final track Lady On The Water is another good acoustic ballad. Sounds like Jim Croce or even Bob Dylan.

All in all, this is an excellent album. There are no long songs. Each song is different and brilliant in its own way. It's a show of eclecticism that I haven't heard since Super Furry Animals. They should be huge. If they aren't there is no justice.

I'd heard the title track off of NPR's "All Songs Considered", and tracked it down from there. I'd heard of the band, but never heard their songs before a few days ago. Good sound, and purchasing here through Amazon was several bucks cheaper than itunes...

Gotta love a band who writes a wistful rememberance song about a Werewolf. Actually pairs pretty well with Fleet Foxes' White Winter Hymnal (from point of view of foxes)...

I am about to commit what many will consider to be sacrilege - more on that in a moment. Full disclosure - "Furr" is the first Blitzen Trapper album I've heard, so I can't compare to their earlier works. But that cannot keep me from loving this album of thirteen polished, riveting tunes.

There's a tried and true cliche of a music review - the writer has to compare the band to somebody else. And here's the sacrilege: a number of tunes on "Furr" remind me of the Beatles. From the wistful lyrics to the pitch-perfect delivery to the tight arrangements, as each tune popped up my thoughts turned to Lennon, Sir Paul, and the lads. My favorite tune is the title track - a classic poet's tale of growing up and life's simple pleasures that can be tapped when you are true to your nature. Which sums up my take on this band and this album. Check it out.

Only time will tell if this album deserves five-star status - I try to hold out on that level of rave review if I find that the album is one that keeps appearing in the CD changer for a long period of time (Paul Simon's "Graceland," the Pogues "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash," anything by The Mavericks, etc.). So I reserve the right to reserve and amend this rating, and I think there's a good chance that I will.

After self-releasing three albums earlier this decade, including the promising "Wild Mountain Nation" in 2007, Blitzen Trapper signed with the SubPop label and now has released its first album on that label.

"Furr" (13 tracks; 39 min.) opens with a very catchy "Sleepy Time in the Western World" and away we go, with a slew of incredible tracks, all one better than the other. The title track sounds gorgeous. "God + Suicide" is a 2 min. moment of pop brilliance. "Not Your Lover" is one of the few piano-lead songs, with wry observations like "In my sleep I'm not your lover anymore/I wake up and have to remind myself that I'm lying on your shore". The next-to-last track is "Echo/Always On/EZ Con", really 3 songs into one, with a fabulous instrumental outro.

In all, the album is outstanding from start to finish. Singer-songwriter Eric Earley keeps the songs short and to the point, making their mark and moving on to the next one. I had the good fortune of catching Blitzen Trapper a few weeks ago at this year's Coachella music festival, and they put on a great set. If you wonder where you can hear these guys, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-station that brings the best indie-rock in the station, bar none. Meanwhile, "Furr" is highly recommended!

With Furr, Blitzen Trapper made an album that's more diverse, yet more consistent that last year's surprising Wild Mountain Nation. There are tons of late 60s/early 70s grooves over the whole album. Those grooves turn to groovy on the disco-like Saturday Nite. And then there's the sadly sweet ballad Not Your Lover. But there's enough harmonica, acoustic guitar and pounding piano for Trapper to hold onto its alt-country label.

[...]

I first heard "Black River Killer" on the radio wished there was a repeat button. The song was so strong, I went out that night and grabbed "Furr" just to get that one song and see what the band was like. Blitzen Trapper's style is hard to define, eclectic and fusion are both overused. You can hear influences from a lot of the great 70's bands in their work and yet they have created a sound that I'd recognize outside of the bounds of this recording.

"Black River Killer" is still my favorite of the selections, it's dark and hair raising, but I found parts of each one of the other dozen songs to enjoy. If you like good old 70's rock, but you want to hear some new vibe, too, this is definitely a CD to try out.

Rebecca Kyle, September 2009

Rolling Stone magazine called Blitzen Trapper "...the best Grateful Dead knockoffs in forever...". While The Grateful Dead is probably the closest comparison, after a big dose of the Dead, Blitzen Trapper peak on Dylan, then roll up equal parts Crosby Stills and Nash influences into the mix, and finally mellow slow with some Neil Young flavored songs. It makes for a heady aural trip that will please hippies of all ages.

The record has a few spots where it loses focus, but on balance, those moments don't detract from the overall great feel of the album. The band seems to be touring pretty heavily, which is always a great way for a band to work the kinks out of songs and get into the groove that suits them best.

If the improvement from "Wild Mountain Nation" to "Furr" is any indication, chances are their next record will be their best yet. So get your chips cashed in and keep truckin on with the Blitzen.

I picked this up after reading a positive review of one of their live shows. Had no idea what to expect other than it was an "Indie" disc and there was a good chance i might not like it. I was very, very wrong about that. The bottom line is that Blitzen Trapper is heck of alot of fun. I would describe this album as a wonderful collage of pop influence, mainly 60's and 70's work of artists such as Bob Dylan, The Beatles and a heavy dose of Neil Young. There are dozens of other influences that tend to bubble through the surface while listening to this disc - but i wont get into that because identifying them is great fun. This music, while relying heavily on it's forfather's, sounds quite fresh and underivative.
The tracks are mostly short, 2-3 minutes each which would seem to pose a problem for the continuity, but doesn't - these songs flow together wonderfully making a listen of the entire album a must on most occasions.
The best part is these guys musicianship is top notch, something I feel is lacking with alot of the indie-rock outfits. Great sense of melody, substantive songwriting and ultimately the ablity to take this method of revisiting the classic era and make it work. No cliche sound, no copy-cat hooks, just good music that will have you singing along in no time.