Daytrotter has a lot to answer for.
Ok, so it's great to have a website where you get free downloads of live sessions from a wide variety bands, and there's nice artwork and nice things to buy. But there's always a downside. And the downside is.......folk rock.
For every great session by The Antlers, Akron/Family and Magnolia Electric, you get one from Benjy Ferree, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's (Worst. Name. Ever. What's with the mix of '&' and 'and'? Jeez.) and The 22-20s. Ok, they're not folk rock but they were rubbish trad blues-rock when they split up in 2006, and they're not any better now. In fact, they might be worse. Come on fellas, your last album wasn't even good enough to be released in your own country (according to Wiki). Know when to stop.
Anyhoo, the point was that Daytrotter are a bit top-heavy on the easygoing AM folky stuff. What is the folk rock equivalent of landfill indie? Cornfield folk? Wide open road rock? This prevalence of middle-of-the-road music seems to have infiltrated Blitzen Trapper.....
In between the release of Wild Mountain Nation and Furr, something changed with the Trapper. Out went the sci-fi sounds, the punk jams like 'Devil's A-Go-Go' and the strange prog excursions and wig-outs. In came Bob Dylan and his (The) Band, and mellow times ensued. The link? All those Daytrotter session BT laid down that were heavy on the acoustic side.
Obtusely, Destroyer of the Void does in fact begin with the conceptual, proggy title track - a rollocking good intro - but then meanders into the album equivalent of middle age. Sure, there are lovely moments such as 'The Tree' (with Alela Diane - I bet she's been on Daytrotter) but generally this floats along just so.....inoffensively.
To be fair, the execution is flawless, it's just that Blitzen Trapper are less of a band minus the psych moments. If this was a review that went with stars out of five, it would get 2-3. I hated that in magazines in my younger years. Can I really waste ten quid on a 3 star review? It could be average.....
...and this is what Destroyer of the Void is. Average.
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