Be moved, a little

Country and folk-rock, when of the Midwestern variety, contains an earnest quality. It’s not so much about boozin’ and brawlin’ as much as about life’s non-self-inflicted hard knocks in an introspective reflection versus extroverted display (think Wilco versus Hank Williams III). Although some musicians come close to nailing a middle ground (Ryan Adams and his earlier material or the Replacements more drawled-out moments), Trapper Schoepp hasn’t quite dug into this material yet. Could be his age (he’s all of 19 years old), or could be that he’s got loftier goals than what can be found inside the four walls of a bar. Likely, Schoepp’s material will eventually change and move, much like his new, aptly titled Lived and Moved release hints at. Or maybe he’s just reinventing Midwestern folk-rock altogether.

The second release for Schoepp and the first for his outfit as Trapper Schoepp & The Shades, Lived and Moved is the chronicle of being young and moving from a tiny community more than 300 miles away to a bigger city… like…  Milwaukee. Small-town Ellsworth, WI very well may have been a sleepy place to call home for an adolescent, and Lived and Moved is filled with the tell-tale growing pains. Songs about young love lost (“Between the Lines”) and searching for a home in “Driving All Night” alternately pick up with lively piano, organ, lap-steel and dueling acoustic and electric guitars, only to mellow-ly drag down to lay claim to more prominent vocal harmonies from siblings Trapper (guitar/vocals) and Tanner (bass/vocals) Schoepp. Each is a story one step further into adulthood.

Recorded at Howl Street Studios in Milwaukee and produced by Justin Perkins, Lived and Moved undeniably sounds more mature than Schoepp’s first release (A Change in the Weather); it’s piano-driven qualities rein in a delightful pop quality, while Schoepp takes time to mess around with pedals and even a little feedback at some points. Although nothing to shake things up, Lived and Moved sounds solid and easily highlights Schoepp and company as a young and talented group, stylistically shifting and adding a new layer to how Midwestern twang currently sounds.

Hear an excerpt from “Between The Lines” off the new album by clicking the song title.