Whenever I talk about Blitzen Trapper, I inevitably start to throw the word “folk” around quite a bit and blab on about how I loved Furr because the band seemed to settle down and get comfortable in this category. The sextet reminds me of listening to Bob Dylan when I was little (on a record player GASP!) and sinking down in all the rich lyrics, the stories that were interwoven into the songs. That’s where I truly learned to love music and despite spending a lot of time and energy broadening my horizons, I always return to folk. The first verse of “Black River Killer” smacks of a little “Long Black Veil” to me as well. At least in terms of being falsely accused and entangled, complicated lovers.
The video takes up the thread of public perception; how crime and punishment are viewed in sight of an audience and used to create a spectacle. (Think outlaws and Jesse James and other cool bad ass stuff.) Also, I love how the concept of sin is taken into account and almost immediately discarded at the same time. The protagonist knows and is obviously aware that the murders he is committing are wrong, and there’s a vague acknowledgement that he wants to be forgiven, but considers himself beyond redemption. Thus, he “washes himself clean as a newborn babe” at the same time he is sharpening his knife.
Yet, he continually asks, “when will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?” Ah. The heart and soul and paradox of angsty folk. At the end you find yourself rooting for this criminal; cheering a little when the others drown in their media creation and he seemingly escapes.
