Blitzen Trapper, American Goldwing (2011)
Who They Are: A six-person band out of Portland, Oregon (which leads to the obligatory hat-tip to the wondrous and famous jupiterjuniper) that's just released their sixth album overall (can that be right?) and third on Sub Pop (I know that's right).
First Impressions: It sometimes sounds like the kind of album Wilco would have made if they'd kept treading the path they cut with Being There, although it harkens more overtly to nineteen-seventies classic rock radio than Jeff Tweedy and company ever did. It winds up fairly hit or miss, but I think it's best when it fully embraces the temptation to wallow in retro excess. "Street Fighting Sun" is the clearest example of this, but a less willfully wild track like "Astronaut" accomplishes the same satisfying result. It didn't totally grab me right away, but I have a feeling this one might grow on me.