« Man Man | Main | Silversun Pickups »
Destroyer
I'm not totally well-versed in these kinds of things -- but I think that Destroyer may be the only indie rock band with a drinking game. (Certainly, there must be a Mountain Goats drinking game, or maybe an East River Pipe drinking game?) Here's an excerpt from the rules: Reference to a Destroyer song in the lyrics of another Destroyer song? Drink! Appearance of the word destroy/destroyed/destroyer in the lyrics? Drink! Wholesale quotation of lyrics from another source? Drink! Song addressed to a woman? Drink! Every song forms the backbone of a concept album about the struggle between art and commerce? Drink the whole damn bottle and forget about this shot nonsense. Pass out.
The Destroyer drinking game, apparently, will get you really plowed -- which really is something for a one-man band that has somehow managed to produce some of the freshest and most challenging pop music of the past ten years or so.
There are definitely a few things to keep in mind before you engage in a conversation of any length about the work of Dan Bejar, who is the heart and soul of Destroyer. (The band was technically a solo act until the most recent touring band became a full time backing band as well.) Llike previous SYItP denizen Neko Case, Mr. Bejar is a member of The New Pornographers -- whom The Queen of the Front Row will be profiling any day now. Which is to say, Mr. Bejar has talent to burn as he supports two fantastic projects -- he's no slouch in his solo nor supergroup career. (However, as I write this, I'm concerned that Ms. Case and Mr. Bejar will wear themselves out, performing in two showcasing acts each. Perhaps someone should let them know that we're worried.) He began recording albums under the Destroyer name in 1996 and has put out seven albums to date with a eighth, Destroyer's Rubies, en queue for Spring 2006. (My personal favorite is 2004's Your Blues.)
I've heard Destroyer at various times compared to David Bowie (ca. Low or Hunky Dory, I would imagine), and really, that's about the best comparison one can come up with. Bejar's meandering, bizarro pop monologues are truly singular, but completely reminiscent of Bowie's word play and nonsensical lyrics, when at times it seems two words are slapped next to one another, not to serve the story the song is trying to tell, but rather for how pleasing they sound next to each other instead.
On Destroyer's Rubies, these epic songs wend their way through the weird logical infrastructure of Bejar's thought processes only to be neatly tied up by a la-de-de-da-da-da chorus that 's photocopied and bolted on to almost every song on the album instead of a more traditional verse/chorus/verse format. This is a far cry from the lo-fi songlets from the first Destroyer record, We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, or the glossy-hard pop of Streethawk: A Seduciton or the synth-fueled rants heard on Your Blues -- and yet the album folds seamlessly into the fabric of Destroyer's (and Bejar's ) artistic evolution. One can't even begin to imagine where he'll be up to with next album.
Destroyer - Sublimation Hour
Destroyer - Very Modern Dance
Destroyer - Loves of a Gnostic
Destroyer - Notorious Lightening
Destroyer - 3000 Flowers
Destroyer's site at Merge. Pre-order Destroyer's Rubies at Amazon; listen to the rest of Destroyer's massive back catalog at the iTunes Music store.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 01.26.06 at 4:00 AM
Comments
Listening to Dan's music is like developing a taste for coffee. His voice and musical style are nowhere near as immediately accessible as the sugary (but equally brilliant) pop sensibilites of his fellow New Pornographers, but once you get enough of his music in your bloodstream, you can't turn back. My only qualm in the past with his NPs tunes was that they seemed so out of place sandwiched between the tight AC/Neko duets, although that seems to have been fixed on "Twin Cinema"; his work with Destroyer can be even more out there, but he really comes into his own as a solo artist. I for one am extremely excited about the release of "Rubies".
Posted by: katybeth at 01.26.06 at 5:01 PM
Comments are now closed for this entry.
