Sub Pop may in many respects be inherently intertwined with the early nineties rise of grunge, in the same way Stiff Records is part of English punk and Motown Records synonymous with, er, Motown. However, while several other such legendary labels disappeared after the movements they helped spawn fell out of fashion, Sub Pop reinvented itself as a hallmark of high quality US independent music, signing artists of respectably high consistency. The latest of these to drop is the fifth album from Blitzen Trapper.
Combining classic, Tom Petty-style Americana with a kind of classic pop-rock which was last prevalent – and last done as well as this - in the Seventies, Blitzen Trapper are a sort of Beatles meets Godley And Creme meets the Heartbreakers. The opener and title track, in particular, boasts a brilliantly almost-overblown-but-somehow-not arrangement, far more ambitious than most modern bands could hope to pull off before “Laughing Lover” spits some sweet white-boy funk pop atcha.
Thereafter, “Destroyer Of The Void” settles into a generally gentler groove, filled with inch-perfect harmonies harking back to another age. Blitzen Trapper have produced an absolutely first class piece of work; a retro album which matches the standard of the legendary artists who inspired it. A very special band, and one absolutely not to be missed.
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