Blitzen Trapper, 'Furr'

Backstory: Led by wildly prolific singer-songwriter Eric Earley, this Portland, Ore., six-piece has cranked out a flurry of material since its inception in 2000. Their ‘70s-obsessed fusion of folk, alt-country and psych-rock eventually attracted the attention of indie stalwart Sub Pop, which is releasing this, the group’s fourth full-length.

Why you should care: Rolling Stone proclaimed Blitzen’s “Wild Mountain Nation” one of the best 100 songs of 2007 and “the best Grateful Dead knockoff in forever.”

Verdict: The best song on “Furr” is its title track, a poetically spun ballad about a young man who transforms into a wolf and back again. Earley’s a bit of a shape-shifter himself, transforming from track to track into uncannily convincing facsimiles of his roots-rock forebears: Michael Stipe (“God + Suicide”), Neil Young (“Not Your Lover”), Steve Earle (“Gold for Bread”). But even when he’s wearing his influences on his sleeve, Earley is an original, with a knack for arresting lyrics (check the chilling “Black River Killer”) and a keen melodic sense that shines through even when his band really brings the racket—as they do to great effect on full-throated rockers like “Love U” and “Fire + Fast Bullets.”

X-Factor: The rather obsessive Earley wrote most of “Furr” during off-hours at a Portland recording studio, sleeping on couches and composing on a battered piano that another band abandoned in the hallway.

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