Blitzen Trapper and Dawes, Mercy Lounge, October 19

How did one of my favorite bands slip onto a calendar without me knowing.  I scour calendars, blogs, websites, and twitter all day long looking for bands to get excited about, and somehow I missed this announcement?!?  Blitzen Trapper is coheadlining with Dawes and opener The Smoke Fairies at Nashville’s Mercy Lounge on October 19th, and I couldn’t be more thrilled by this announcement.

Blitzen Trapper is an artsy alt-country band from Portland, Oregon.  They have been playing together since 2000, and self-released their self-titled first album in 2003.  They followed that up with Field Rexx in 2004.  In 2007, they began to receive critical acclaim with the release of Wild Mountain Nation, which ultimately got them signed onto Sub Pop Records.  The title track from that album was named by Rolling Stone as number 98 in their “top 100 singles of 2007”.  The follow up release of their 4th LP, Furr, in 2008 is considered the current high water mark for the quintet.  Rolling Stone put together a 2-page spread on the band, and named Furr the 13th best album of 2008 (beating out the likes of Bon Iver, Kings of Leon, and The Black Keys).  The title track from Furr was honored with the number 4 ranking out of the top 100 singles of 2008 (only bettered by Beyonce’, Santogold, and MGMT).  Blitzen Trapper caught the heart of Daytrotter as well.  The band released Destroyer Of The Void in 2010, and the LP was received with generally positive reviews, but apparently did not live up to the expectation set with the previous two albums.  Well, 2011 marks another test for Blitzen Trapper, as they are set to release their 6th LP, American Goldwing on September 13th.  A few tracks have been leaked from this album, and they sound really good.  You can pre-order the album over at the band’s website.  Blitzen Trapper is touring to support this release, and will be rolling through Nashville’s Mercy Lounge on October 19th.  I’ve had the opportunity to see them several times live, and it is a show not to be missed!

Dawes is a band that has been under the radar for sometime.  I saw them a couple years ago when they opened for Deer Tick in San Francisco.  They had a tight sound, but the music seemed a little lost to me.  Of course, that tour was in support of their first album North Hills, and that has most likely changed, because they are playing all over the place now.  They are obviously a favorite over at Daytrotter.  In support of their new LP, Nothing Is Wrong, they are coheadlining with Blitzen Trapper on this 27 city US tour, and that does not include their upcoming set at Nashville’s Soundland Festival.

There’s some music below for you to check out.  The player has both Dawes and Blitzen Trapper tunes.  I also included two tracks from the forthcoming Blitzen Trapper LP, American Goldwing.  You can download these new tracks for yourself (for free).  The title track “American Goldwing” is over at the Sub Pop website for the cost of an email address.  You can download “Love The Way You Walk Away” from SoundCloud (just click the little down pointing arrow thinger).  You can get tickets for the show at Mercy Lounge’s website.

“American Goldwing” – from Blitzen Trapper’s American Goldwing (due out 9/13 on Sub Pop)

“Love The Way You Walk Away”- from Blitzen Trapper’s American Goldwing (due out 9/13 on Sub Pop)

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