Blitzen Trapper Finds a Down-Home Vibe

Blitzen Trapper gets uncharacteristically focused and direct in "Silver Moon." Jade Harris hide caption

toggle caption

Jade Harris

Blitzen Trapper is known for a dizzyingly rapid-fire approach to its musical influences, channeling both the ramshackle slacker assault of Pavement and the roots-rock swagger of Creedence Clearwater Revival, all while throwing in psychedelic prog-rock riffs and ferocious punk energy. Still, for a band that specializes in radical genre-bending, Blitzen Trapper gets uncharacteristically focused and direct on its short new six-song EP. The collection follows last year's mostly overlooked but critically praised Wild Mountain Nation, with concise songs that stick to understated lullabies and rollicking AM country-rock, a style that made Nation's best tunes so successful.

In all of its two and a half minutes, "Silver Moon" finds singer Eric Earley guiding the band through a hooky chorus, backed by the infectious sounds of a harmonica. As he sings, "Oh, what a silver moon / Sings by the light of the room / And a song is the shape of a strange balloon," the confident and raucous anthem highlights Earley's love of The Band's down-home vibe. Blitzen Trapper veers into unevenness at times — it draws from so many bands and styles that it's inevitable — but when it limits itself to what it does best, songs like "Silver Moon" shine.

Listen to yesterday's Song of the Day, and subscribe to the Song of the Day newsletter.