NW Reviews: Blitzen Trapper – Destroyer of the Void

I was kind of sad when I took The Magic Theatre off my album of the year nomination list. But luckily, where there is a void there is a filler. May it be tears, drugs, or weird album art (see above?), Blitzen Trapper ended up being the filler to the void. Why? Well, let me tell you…

Blitzen Trapper, from Portland, Oregon, is some sort of folk-rock act gone mental. If you listened to The Magic Theatre… they are to Liverpool as Blitzen Trapper is to a past American decade. Which decade? Well, it spans from the late 60s all the way up to now. Maybe if this were like the TV show Lost, Blitzen Trapper would be the flash-sideways band of a decade that never was. Does this even make sense? I should probably stop rambling.

When I’m listening to this, unlike The Magic Theatre, this music doesn’t make me think much of the past. Although the music itself is a very good check mark for revivalist music, there is a very modern swagger about this album that is entwined throughout each song. The songwriting is very stable, which is very surprising for a band who could possibly be called the indie-folk version of The Mars Volta. Each song has a very specific story, which is akin to classic folktale songwriting. Instruments are very tasteful and there is not one instrument, including vocals, that overpowers at any given point. At times, I do get very strong hints of artists like Led Zeppelin or Bob Dylan but only momentarily as something like a crunchy guitar breaks up that fantasy. Overall, you can’t really fault these guys on this album. Great production, great songwriting, and great music all around.

For many pros, there are “grass is greener” type cons. In this case, since all these musicians are amazing, stronger emphasis showcasing some of these musicians would tickle my fancy. However, if that would in anyway take away from a songs overall appearance then I might have to take back this con. Also, when a band impresses with an older sound turned new some how, it’s tough to see past this older sound. You are now comparing bands like Zep to these guys… and there really is no comparison at that point. It’s a different time and a different scene. I’d be interested to see if this band has any side projects, just to see who sticks their noses in a sound less dated than this revival of the 60s/70s. I guess these aren’t really cons, just requests. Maybe the biggest con is the idea that these guys could most likely have gone with a concept album and kept many people very interested in the story. Individual songs echo strongly, but that’s now 12 great stories told and my mental capacity isn’t that great. First impression… there’s a lot in here. That’s not really a con either, is it? Damn.

I’m very up on this band. It’s different and can spark some great interest in not just indie-folk artists but that show-tune-y type songwriting that The Magic Theatre was on about. There is a lot to take from this album and it’ll be hard to top these guys I believe. Sub Pop, you’ve succeeded yet again.

Editor’s note: I don’t know why this didn’t post this morning… well, I do, but I’d rather just leave it to imagination. I’ll try to keep the daily posting in the AM from now on. -nw