Blitzen Trapper has been around in various incarnations for years before finally crystallizing in July 2000 on the slopes of Mt. Hood. And it's this modern version of the experimental folk-rock sextet that we have to thank for my pick of the week. Off their 2008 release, "Furr", "Black River Killer" spins a tale of perpetual sin despite being a hairs breadth from 'heaven's gate'. Opening with the murder of a young girl, it follows a serial killer through several states, not to mention a few prison cells, as he seeks blood and redemption. Depressing, sure but it sings to the darkness in all of us in a profound yet simple manner and invites the listener to really examine his or her subconscious with this one seemingly innocent question: What would it really take to pull me back from heaven's gate?

Simple but catchy as hell pretty much sums up this track. The boy/girl duo Sleigh Bells has garnered critical claim from the likes of NPR, The New York Times and ABC with nothing but a couple of apparently astounding live performances and a few leaked tracks. Rare as that is what's rarer still is the talent these two share, talent severely lacking in todays world of Autotuned pop artists. 

Swelling, haunting, epic, profound, thoughtful... These are but  a few of the adjectives I would use to describe "Blank White Page". A folk/bluegrass group from London, England, Mumford & Sons pretty much rocketed to the the top of my favorite artists list this week standing beside the likes of Delta Spirit, Laura Marling and Sunset Rubdown. Granted, there are a shit-ton of artists in my favorites list but it takes some pretty amazing song writing skills to make it up there.

All I can say about this one is it's just good fun. Seriously, unless you've been hiding under a rock you've already heard their first single "Something Good Can Work" and this is more of the same. Trust me, that's a good thing!