Blitzen Trapper has always been able to create music that invokes visions of open plains, star-lit skies, and campfires. Yet at the same time there’s this unexplainable feeling of being pulled into an alternate world, as though being shot through the galaxy, catching glimpses of what life once was, what’s it become, and where it’s going.
And this audibly transcendent quality about Blitzen Trapper is not lost on Destroyer of the Void, the group’s fifth full-length album, and their second on Sub-Pop. However, the trip that Trapper brings the listener on feels more like a journey through the Old West than a high-speed tour of all the intricacies of the universe. In that sense, the themes—musically and lyrically—are grounded in reality and not as fantastical as the previous albums were. Wild Mountain Nation and Furr, while very naturalistic in content, had this parallel universe kind of vibe to them.
With Destroyer of the Void, it’s hard—at least for me—not to picture a lone cowboy making his way through rugged wilderness and lawless towns, on a quest to find some unobtainable truth about his existence. But what’s great is that each song does shift place and time while the tone of the album keeps this consistent feeling that we’re following a lost soul through different points in history.
Blitzen Trapper’s ability to craft songs that inspire such vivid images is reason enough to listen to them. After all, good music always inspires more in the listener’s head than just the urge to nod their head and tap their foot. It stirs up memories, takes us places we’ve never been, but most importantly, it inspires a temporary shift in the way our brain fires.
Destroyer of the Void can only be classified as modern classic rock. The album merges the old with the new in a way that seems so familiar at first, but with each new listen it evolves. What stands out most on Destroyer is the vocals. There’s much more diversity in the type of singing found throughout the album and the group harmonies add to the epic nature of the record.
Hell, the title track, which opens the album, serves as a prologue that foreshadows the journey ahead. And when the album ends, it’s as though you’ve returned from another point in time. It’s kind of like stepping out of a dark movie theater after seeing a really engrossing movie. Once that outside light hits your eyes it’s like waking up from a dream, and things feel different, but you’re not completely sure why.
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