Listen to this Music: Blitzen Trapper- Destroyer of the Void

Listen to this music- Blitzen Trapper

When Blitzen Trapper’s fourth album, Furr, was released in 2008, it received a great deal of fanfare and praise from all around the music world. The album helped the band gain national attention, it even landed them thirteenth on the Rolling Stone list for best albums of the year.  Furr was a folksy trip through Americana landscapes and fairy tale lyrics. Blitzen Trapper’s new Album, Destroyer of the Void, continues along that same vein. While the band doesn’t stray too far from their roots, their fifth release finds ways to continue to surprise and inspire even the most diehard Blitzen Trapper enthusiasts. My only complaint is that at 45 minutes, the album is too short.

The album harkens back to the great Americana bands of the past, stirring up thoughts of Wings, The Doors, and even Wilco. Blitzen Trapper’s seamless mix of electric and acoustic guitars creates a sense of duality in their songs without confusing or challenging the listener. Take for example the standout song “Love and Hate,” with six musicians in the band, the song stands on the edge of raucous, but never crosses over into something that would take away from the laid back folk rock that Blitzen Trapper is known for.

 From the start you get a sense that the band has classic rock influences, the title track kicks off the album with soft vocals that sing of wayward sons and rolling stones. The song goes on to transform twice throughout its six minute runtime, which is reminiscent of Paul McCartney’s iconic ballad, “Band on the Run”. True to Blitzen Trapper’s form, Destroyer of the Void has a cohesive mix of faced paced rock songs and acoustic folksy stories.  While the album doesn’t really have any low points, it certainly has some highlights. The excellent song, “The Man Who Would Speak True” tells the tale of man who is cursed with a flower for a tongue, the song is filled with fantastic images of drinking whiskey and killing loved ones. What more would you expect from Blitzen Trapper? Later on the album is the sparkling duet, “The Tree”, which features Alela Diane, and the brilliant “Evening Star.”  While these songs are quite different, “The Tree” is a soft love song, and “Evening Star” is a more upbeat song with a funky baseline, they both totally encapsulate what Blitzen Trapper is; a band which creates positively infectious songs filled with metaphor and sing-along choruses. The album ends with the piano ballad “Sadie”, which, because of its title and style, could be a reference to Bob Dylan or even The Beatles.

Comparing Blitzen Trapper to some of the best rock acts of all time may seem bold, but I believe that Destroyer of the Void will at least conjure up thoughts of these great bands. So go out and buy this album when it’s released on June 8^th or go see them live in concert, I know I will.