Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper is one of the Pacific Northwest's more eclectic indie roots-rock bands. Instead of honing a single vision like Fleet Foxes, the Portland outfit hops from genre to genre, all the while maintaining their twin loves: arty bombast and sharp, power-pop hooks. It's an aesthetic that immediately calls to mind the classic Move-E.L.O.-Wizzard axis: With each successive album, singer and songwriter Eric Earley's tunesmithing grows more varied and confident, a modern-day Roy Wood in terms of rapid transformation. Though a sextet, Blitzen Trapper's artistic core is more or less Earley, who reportedly began playing music at the age of three. After the group formed in 2000, it self-released its first three records: Blitzen Trapper, Field Rexx and Wild Mountain Nation. The band signed to Sub Pop in 2007 and subsequently released its best album to date, 2008's Furr. The group's fanbase has definitely expanded over time, yet it has never blown up like many of its Sub Pop peers. While this could change, there just might be something about Earley's style that's always going to be a little too rich for mass acceptance.