Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void

Blitzen Trapper garnered widespread acclaim for their last two releases, the DIY Wild Mountain Nation and 2008’s more considered Furr, but their breakthrough with the buying public has yet to happen and they continue to play to half-empty venues around UK and Ireland. Destroyer of the Void is looking to change all that – it’s by far their most focused and polished record to date, resplendent with creamy melodies, buoyant harmonies and their trademark crunchy-leaves-underfoot guitar sound. 

They’ve shaken off the gonzo Wowee Zowee shapes that peppered Wild Mountain Nation, and in all honesty they’re better for it. Instead, they’ve made a folk-rock record, falling somewhere between Fleet Foxes and latterday Wilco. At times they are too reverential; 'Below the Curtain’s' twinking melody and cooing harmonies are a little too redolent of the Foxes, (lovely as they are) and 'Dragon’s Song' is essentially Wilco’s 'War on War' put to new words, but there’s plenty to savour here. The opening title-track is gloriously melodic, its Beatlesy lilt almost venturing into Gilbert O’Sullivan territory. They flex their muscles on 'Love and Hate Collide', while stately piano ballad 'Heaven and Earth' is gloriously reminiscent of Judee Sill’s rightly revered catalogue. Nobody could argue that the chorus to 'Lover Leave Me Drowning' isn’t beautifully turned. 

It’s a success then, relaxed, well paced and nicely crafted. If there is a caveat though, it’s that they’ve sacrificed a little of their playfulness and inventiveness to get here. If you loved Wild Mountain Nation for its zany try-anything-once attitude and scuzzy, lo-fi aesthetic, there is a chance that you’ll find Destroyer of the Void a little staid, too tasteful and maybe a little one-dimensional. But, if you’re looking for something to fill the gap left by that dispappointing Midlake album not living up to expectations, this is a fine place to start looking.