Trapper Schoepp - Osborne (Crystal Clear Vinyl)

Osborne is a rock ‘n’ roll recovery album for the opioid age, inspired by Trapper Schoepp’s own struggles with addiction. It was produced by Mike Viola (Andrew Bird, Jenny Lewis) and Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Iron and Wine, Jackson Browne).

After relying on prescription painkillers and other substances for a decade, Trapper checked into the Hazelden Betty Ford rehab centre near his birthplace in Minnesota last year. Fittingly, the rock ‘n’ roller was placed in the ‘Osborne’ unit - a letter off from Ozzy (RIP)’s surname but appropriated as such to honour the former Hazelden patient. “Recording this album was an exorcism of my demons,” says Trapper, who cut the album in a church basement in California, a month after leaving Osborne. “I kept asking myself if this was a test or torture. I realized that if cleaning myself up was the torture, putting it all down on paper honestly was the test,” Trapper says. “I needed both.” 

The 34-year-old Milwaukee singer has been releasing records since 2012. Trapper’s past records have received accolades from the likes of NPR, PBS, Huffington Post, Rolling Stone and Relix, and were supported by tours with The Wallflowers, Frank Turner, The Jayhawks, Old 97’s and many more. Most notably, the singer published a song with Bob Dylan in 2019 called ‘On, Wisconsin’.