photo by Brittney Bush Bollay
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is “Black River Killer” by Blitzen Trapper from their 2009 Black River Killer EP on Sub Pop.
Blitzen Trapper has seen a torrent of publicity since the release of Furr late last year with songs featured on major network shows and appearances on the late night talk show circuit. Taking a track from that release, the band looks to turn more attention to the often overlooked song Black River Killer by giving it a titular EP this year.
Following the exploits of a serial murderer who just can’t be kept captive, Blitzen Trapper’s Black River Killer is a sober tale of the wrongfully accused turned into everything the system fears. Channeling the six strings of Neil and the lyrical twang of Bobby, lead singer Eric Earley tells of a deranged man that could very well be an alternate reality Gary Ridgeway as a lone keyboard whines and whistles a melody in the refrain. Equal parts sin and regret, Black River Killer is just as haunting as it is toe-tapping.
Blitzen Trapper continues to tour across the UK and parts of Europe through mid-September. On September 25th they will land at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene to kick off an exhaustingly thorough United States tour that will take them down the coast, through the south, up the Atlantic and across the heartland back to their stomping grounds with a show at Neumo’s on October 25th. Check their MySpace page for more dates. For now, you can watch their official video for the song as well as their rendition of the song during the Concerts at the Mural series last month:
