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- Artist(s): Eric Earley, Brian Adrian Koch, Marty Marquis, Erik Menteer
- Summary: The seventh full-length release for the Portland, Oregon-based experimental folk band is its first on the Vagrant label.
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- Record Label: Vagrant
- Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
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Score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 12
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Mixed: 7 out of 12
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Negative: 0 out of 12
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Oct 2, 2013VII is Blitzen Trapper’s strongest album to date, with years of musical experimentation having come together in the band’s own mad-scientist brand of cosmic Americana.
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MagnetOct 18, 2013One-third of VII has the quintet living up to the folk/country billing with upbeat, chaw-spittin', porch-sittin' classics-in-waiting and depressive ballads presented in Eric Earley's stark, storytelling style. The other two-thirds have skittering keyboards and soulful backing vocals. [No. 103, p.52]
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MojoDec 18, 2013At once as snug as a velvet quilt in a log cabin, yet as challenging and testing as modern architecture, VII is a signpost to a whole new direction for Americana. [Jan 2014, p.100]
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Oct 2, 2013Blitzen Trapper are unabashed traditionalists, and they’re not shy about letting you know it.
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Oct 4, 2013The band sounds more polished than ever, especially when they shed their folk roots, but the funky riffs (“Feel the Chill,” “Drive On Up”) owe more to Songs in the Key of Life than Highway 61 Revisited.
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Oct 7, 2013While the band’s penchant for steadying, shimmering guitars and unexpected use of instruments certainly appears on VII, it’s not enough to overshadow this album’s lack of originality.
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Oct 2, 2013The area in which the album most falls short is the lyrics. Earley’s writing has always had a slightly hokey nature to it, but, for much of VII, it veers into truly hackneyed territory.
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