BLITZEN TRAPPER: ALL ACROSS THIS LAND (2015)
1) All Across This Land; 2)
Rock And Roll (Was Made For You); 3) Mystery And Wonder; 4) Love Grow Cold; 5)
Lonesome Angel; 6) Nights Were Made For Love; 7) Cadillac Road; 8) Let The
Cards Fall; 9) Even If You Don't; 10) Across The River.
Stylistically, this is a return to the vibe of American Goldwing — unassuming
retro-rock with emphasis on the «nobody should be able to tell that we are not The Eagles or at least The Doobie
Brothers!» side of the business. But impression-wise, All Across This Land seems to be the better bet of the two, if only
because it's got more muscle; and I mean that almost literally — the riffs, the
rhythm section, the vocals all seem to be infected with a strange brawny
vivaciousness. Not only that, but Earley and his mates intentionally lower the
«intelligence shield» of the music and go as far as to offer a few really
simplistic anthems to, uh, simplicity — ʽRock And Roll (Was Made For You)ʼ does
sound about as dumb as its title.
And, for once, this is sort of a plus, because
throughout their career, Blitzen Trapper have consistently failed to convince
me that they were truly qualified for the status of a «subtle», «intellectual»,
«innovative» rock band. In reality, a few happy exceptions aside, Earley is a
natural-born barroom rocker and little else — and All Across This Land is just that, an album of barroom rock with a
Southern edge to it that "just wants to rock'n'roll", as they
themselves acknowledge on ʽNights Were Made For Loveʼ. Meaning that it all
sounds nice and tasteful and adequate, even if, as usual, few songs stick out.
General gripes involve the superfluous use of
synthesizers — cheesy fake strings really do not belong on these kinds of songs
— and, more importantly, the fact that Earley has not become any more
distinctive as a singer than he used to be: his husky, earthy voice is good for
this music, but he still has such minimal range and flexibility that if anybody
said he was «singing with feeling», I would have to assume that «feeling» is an
immanent, unchanging quality for this guy. This is, however, a grudge that can
be held against the absolute majority of Blitzen Trapper's roots-rock idols
from the Seventies, so why should we blame poor Eric?
Speaking of sticking out, I'd probably have to
put in a good word for the title track, featuring the album's most distinctive
and memorable set of riffs and passing off for, let's say, a second-rate
Skynyrd; the already mentioned ʽNights Were Made For Loveʼ, a fast tempo
pop-rocker stuffed with romantic nostalgia (like a sped-up variation on the
Byrds' cover of ʽMy Back Pagesʼ or something like that); and the closing
acoustic ballad ʽAcross The Riverʼ, which could have been so much better if
sung by Neil Young, but... ah, hell.
Overall, I'm not giving this a thumbs up so as
to avoid upholding the illusion that this is some sort of «creative rebound» or
that you can find here something that cannot be found on a solid selection of
soft rock nuggets from the early-to-mid Seventies. But since the record clearly
does not pretend to anything more
than telling you, "We love our smelly roots, and what's wrong with
that?", I'm not giving it a thumbs down, either. If you just can't get
enough of those Southern vibes and need your fill replenished daily, All Across This Land is highly
recommendable. If, however, you still vaguely remember Blitzen Trapper as that
odd try-anything-once band that arrogantly mixed Brit-pop, roots-rock, and
psychedelia on its debut album, that old band just ain't coming back. They made
their choice and settled down on the farm. Oh well, I guess somebody at least has to settle down on
the farm in these days of urban dictature.
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