RecaPitulation: Blitzen Trapper, Shudder To Think, Drummer

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Blitzen Trapper must’ve grown up watching Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and Aerosmith’s “Janie’s Got a Gun,” ’cause the folk-rock band’s new video looks like a hybrid of the two. The song, “Black River Killer,” would also fit comfortably on one of Dylan’s late-career (cowboy era) albums … oh, how the times have changed for Sub Pop and indie rock in general. BT’s Black River Killer EP will street August 25, and if you’re still trying to make up your mind whether to click that “preorder” button, give the aforementioned video a whirl. …

Shudder to Think fans can continue to revel: The altern-icons, who huddled back together for a swath of reunion shows late last year, will prolong the festivities with a live album due September 15. Live From Home will come out through Team Love, the label co-founded by Conor Oberst. In a statement, frontman Craig Wedren said the release “does a slam-bang job of representing, and in some cases toppling altogether, a lot of the original recordings. ‘About Three Dreams’ is a particular favorite, and I think we may finally have gotten a solid version of ‘Day Ditty’ down for the lovers. We feel that these songs transcend time and trends, and we hope that they’ll feel as fresh to you as they did to us when we played them again last year, for the first time in over a decade.” We’re sold. …

Yesterday we told you about a new band called the Drums; today we introduce to you another new ensemble: Drummer. Yeah, yeah, we know, they’ve just gotta tour together, right, maybe opening for Drums of Death? Anyway, Drummer belongs to Patrick Carney, who plays - just try to guess - that’s right, drums, for the Black Keys. Carney is actually stepping away from the skins and picking up the bass instead for his new venture, which also features drummers from Six Parts Seven and a bunch of bands we’ve never heard of. Unlike the Keys’ clean-blues-rock/AOR sound, Drummer comes across as more of a college-rock/pop ensemble, with some keyboard licks giving it some extra personality. Their debut, Feel Good Together, drops September 29 on Carney’s indie label, Audio Eagle. A tour kicks off October 8 in Brooklyn and winds down October 24 in Cleveland, Ohio - the great state that has produced, among other such musical talent, the Black Keys. Dig the title track:

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Wouldn’tcha know it, the next news we just found out about also pertains to Carney’s Audio Eagle - are you inside our computer, Patrick? In the early fall, he’ll be putting out the second album by Knoxville, Tennessee’s Royal Bangs, a bleepy rock band that sounds like Les Savy Fav trying to get on classic-rock radio. But we already have a download from the album - the song “My Car Is Haunted” - so you can make up your own mind: viola. Another coinkydink: Royal Bangs will be on the above-mentioned tour with Drummer. …

Sub Pop just announced a new signing: Los Angeles’ Dum Dum Girls. It musta just happened, since the neo-girl group’s MySpace page still says “unsigned.” Looks like “Dum Dum Girls” is a bit of a misnomer, since the only bandmember appears to be someone named Dee Dee. And she sure doesn’t sound like she’s from L.A. - you’d swear this were a solo project by Sharin Foo of the Raveonettes. At any rate, we’re still excited; look for a Dum Dum Girls full-length during or before next summer. …

Drool is dripping onto the keyboard as we read the lineup for this year’s In the Pines festival, happening August 29 in Big Sur, which is about 140 miles south of San Francisco, close to the Pacific and a stone’s throw away from who-the-hell-knows. Check it: Wooden Shjips. Dungen. Vietnam. Woods. Saviours. Who wants to schlep us up there? Tix are a mere $29 and available here. …

We already told you all about Clutch’s new album, Strange Cousins From the West. If you’ve been pulling out your fingernails, dying to hear it, we know how to spell r-e-l-i-e-f: The Maryland hard-boogie band is streaming the effort right here. Also, keep an eye out for their “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” video, due to debut on “Headbangers Ball” on Saturday. …

The first track we’ve heard from 3 Inches of Blood’s new album sounds pretty solid, although we’re bummed to learn that second vocalist Jamie Hooper (the indie-rock-lookin’ guy) is officially no longer with the band. Listen to “Call of the Hammer” right here. 3IOB’s Here Waits Thy Doom is due September 8 on Century Media, and we have no idea how it’s going to measure up to 2007’s indispensable neo-power-metal passel, Fire Up the Blades. …

Here’s another album stream for ya: Arsonists Get All the Girls‘ Portals. We hear a little Liza Minnelli, a Tesh strain here and there, maybe even some Andrea Bocelli. Either that or electronic-infused metalcore, we’re not sure. The cover for the album - due July 14 on Century Media - is too cool not to post: