Pitchfork

Portland, Oregon continues to hemorrhage great bands, and shows no signs of bleeding itself dry just yet; think of a record from the past six months you've been digging (sans any Swedish vocal twinge), and the joint probably stinks of fir trees and Clyde "The Glide" Drexler.

Blitzen Trapper are presently clawing their way to the top of the Portland pile, and the buzz around their Wild Mountain Nation is as deafening as it is deserving. Finding the unlikely ground between spazz-rock and chicken-fried stomp, Wild Mountain Nation's so fine, Blitzen Trapper don't even need a label to move the sucker. The band'll peddle the self-issued album themselves starting June 12.

The reindeer-grabbers will soon step out on a bunch of dates with noted soft-rocking teetotalers the Hold Steady and Bucks County, PA's banjo-and-beats blenders Illinois.

This is Wild Mountain country:

05-26 George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre (Sasquatch! Festival)
05-28 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *#
05-30 San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
05-31 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey *
06-01 San Diego, CA - Cane's *
06-02 Phoenix, AZ - Brick House *
06-04 Tucson, AZ - Plush *
06-07 Houston, TX - Walter's on Washington *
06-08 Austin, TX - Emo's *
06-09 Denton, TX - Hailey's *
06-10 Norman, OK - The Opolis *
06-11 Little Rock, AR - Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack *
06-12 Columbia, MO - Blue Note *
06-14 Portland, OR - Holocene (CD release party)

* with the Hold Steady, Illinois
# with Heartless Bastards