It is fitting that ten seconds into Blitzen Trapper's fifth full-length record, front man Eric Earley utters that most sacred of rock 'n' roll tropes: "For to love is to leave or to run like a rollin' stone." As is the case with just about every musician or band that has employed the Blues' greatest simile-Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Van Morrison, the Temptations, the Rolling Stones-Blitzen Trapper is unabashed in its embrace of tradition. Over the course of their four full-length albums to date, including their revelatory 2008 Sub Pop release Furr, the Portland band has already made that much clear. And, Earley's considerable poetic talents and his band's hard-earned chops have gained them a growing international audience. The band's continuing exploration of American music that spans from the '60s folk movement to the country sounds of the '70s, to the pop balladry and prog rock of the '80s has earned it notice ranging from Rolling Stone magazine to late-night network television to Yo Gabba Gabba, among a great many others. Destroyer of the Void takes Blitzen Trapper one step further. But there is more to Blitzen Trapper than those traditions. More than anything, the band credits its music to its Pacific Northwest home. It is there that the six members came together ten years ago and formed a creative cauldron. During two distant and brief breaks from the band's near-incessant touring for Furr-one in January 2009 and the other in January 2010-Earley and a few of his bandmates entered the attic studio of the lauded Portland musician and studio engineer Mike Coykendall (Bright Eyes, M Ward, She & Him). In addition to his contributions, preternatural musical siblings Peter Broderick (Horse Feathers, Efterklang) and Heather Woods Broderick (Efterklang) wrote the album's string arrangements, while folk standout Alela Diane lent her angelic vocals to the duet "The Tree." The heart of Destroyer of the Void, though, is still found in Earley's meticulous songwriting. Here he is firmly in storyteller mode, expanding on the mythical world he created on Furr, creating a truly original American soundtrack.