- Blitzen Trappen
Blitzen Trapper, American Goldwing
While American Goldwing is anthemic and rollicking, there’s still frontman/guitarist Eric Earley’s fine-tuned attention to storytelling. On what initially started out as a solo album, he takes a more personal lyrical journey than previous albums, wearing his heart on a 10-gallon hat with lonesome songs like “Love the Way You Walk Away” and “Girl in a Coat.” However, good-times rock-out “Street Fighting Sun” and old boy ballad “Fletcher” give the disc an upbeat spin. With Earley’s wildy vivid imagination in full force, it’s hard not to postulate that he’ll soon pen a novel of prose like his singer-songwriter contemporaries Josh Ritter and Willy Vlautin. Sub Pop, Sept. 13 (Austen Diamond)
The Rapture, In the Grace of Your Love
In a recent interview with Pitchfork, drummer Vito Roccoforte says, “With this record, we got back to one of the original goals of the band, which was to not be etched-in by a certain sound.” With nearly every track’s transition, In the Grace of Your Love continually slips out of the enclosures the band is often put in, like “dance-punk,” “acid house” and “indie-dance-rock.” The celebratory “How Deep is Your Love?” and the Talking Heads-y title track, and everything in between, balance fun without sacrificing substance. The compilation ends with the playful “It Takes Time To Be a Man,” concluding an eclectic listener experience that doesn’t feel scattered or messy. DFA, Sept. 6 (Jordan Wallis)