Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void

(Sub Pop)

Portland rock-classicists Blitzen Trapper are all about the big stuff on their fifth long-player: ‘Love and Hate’, ‘Heaven and Earth’, hurricanes, dragons and stars all play their part – and it’s vast in musical parlance, too.

The visionary six-piece traverse the great American canon, variously mastering lyrical protest folk (‘The Man Who Would Speak True’), 70s country and MOR rock (‘Laughing Lover’), psychedelia, prog and pop-opera (‘Destroyer of the Void’, ‘Love and Hate’) and vintage big-league balladry (‘Below the Hurricane’; the terrific ‘Heaven and Earth’). If their nostalgia borders on parody, dig deeper: there’s much to treasure in this album.