Blitzen Trapper: Video Premiere for “Love the Way You Walk Away”

American Goldwing may be Blitzen Trapper’s third album since becoming indie-pop blogosphere darlings, but they’d already released three other albums before signing to Sub Pop, so the combination of sure-footed stomp and shimmering sweep on their sixth is the sound of seasoned vets strutting their stuff, not merely buzz-bin kids breaking big. And when they add a gently gliding psych-pop undercurrent to the sun-dappled steel guitar and perky banjo plucking of the summery “Love The Way You Walk Away,” it puts some extra wind under the song’s wings. More than ever, the Portland, Oregon quintet seem like the rightful successors to Beachwood Sparks, who pursued a similar blend on the same label at the start of the previous decade. And being on the losing end of love never sounded so strangely satisfying as when BT frontman Eric Earley bids the object of his affections an oddly unperturbed farewell here, even adding a “hey hey” refrain to the chorus, just to make doubly certain you don’t start feeling sorry for him. -- Jim Allen

"Love The Way You Walk Away" Blitzen Trapper