Destroyer - "ken."

Destroyer has been a fascination of mine for a very long time.  I honestly got familiar with Dan Bejar's music through The New Pornographers.  But since then, I've backtracked and got into a LOT of Dan's older stuff recording under the Destroyer name.  In 1996 he made his debut with "We'll Build Them A Golden Bridge", and honestly it's not too pretty.  There are some things to really grab hold to here, like Dan's very poetic lyrics and delivery, as well as a few tracks that would return on later New Pornographers albums.  But outside of that, this album is messy.  The instrumentals aren't nearly as enchanting as they eventually would be, and Dan seems constantly unfocused.  So much so, I didn't even bother with his next album "Ideas For Songs".  Thankfully, Dan really went into overdrive on 1998's "City Of Daughters", his first stunning album. Dan brought out a series of very elegant, refined Indie Rock tunes that dabbled in Jazz occasionally.  But these were all very visually stunning, unbelievably well written Indie tunes, that put Destroyer on the map in a big way very quickly. 2000's "Thief"   showed Dan continuing down the same path.  I mean. these tracks were just as sweet, charming, and expertly written. But it was more than that.  Dan just had such a way of presenting these tracks in such an elegant way.  It made you think that you were watching this very artsy Indie Rock stage show, and I loved every minute of it.  Dan branched out Destroyer's sound even further with his next album, "Streethawk: A Seduction".  This album was incredibly classy and grand and showed Dan bringing in more instrumentals than ever.  On top of that, he was writing much longer tracks, but they remained compact and intriguing.  Now, I do feel like Dan hiccuped a little with 2002's "This Night".  Don't get me wrong, some of my favorite Destroyer tracks of all time are on here, like "Here Comes The Night".  However, this album is a little overblown.  Not to mention, at over an hour this is Dan's longest yet, and I just didn't think that was completely necessary.  In 2004 though, Destroyer did bounce back with one of my favorite records of theirs, "Your Blues".  This was Dan's most charming and elegant yet.  Some of these instrumentals were just so classy, bringing in dozens of horns and strings.  Plus, his songwriting just seemed to get better with each passing moment.  Destroyer's sound continued to get bigger and bigger with 2006's "Destroyer's Rubies".  Now, I wasn't really into some of the longer tracks here that seemed a little over-indulgent to me.  But still, tracks like "European Oils" were easily some of the most classy Indie tunes on the market. But once again, I needed a little bit of a change up from Destroyer. We got a slight change up in 2008 with "Trouble In Dreams", a much more stripped down album for Dan.  There weren't as many lavish instrumentals, and it was kinda refreshing to hear Dan step back.  But I still felt like I needed a major shift for Destroyer.  And boy did we ever get that shift and in the best way.  On "Kaputt", Dan embraced the very smooth sounds of 80's Soft Rock and Jazz, resulting in a seriously unbelievable album.  It was all just done so smooth, making for one of the coolest and chilled out albums in Destroyer's discography.  On the other hand, Dan didn't let any of his delicate songwriting and theatrical performances go.  Destroyer followed suit with 2015's "Poison Season", an equally Jazzy and elegant album.  But I just loved how much more direct the production was and how much louder these tracks were.  Destroyer has been on quite the roll as of lately.  So it's been a few years since we've heard from Dan, but these new singles have been sweet and refreshing.  Let's talk about this album, shall we!

(the one track that got me into Destroyer)

    This album starts off with “Sky’s Grey”, and it’s honestly sort of a weird intro for Dan that I don’t 100% understand.  I mean, I respect that he wants to make this a sort of very serene and pretty intro.  But this is just so damn uneventful.  Now, we’re slowly seeing that this is going to be a pretty heavily Synth driven album.  Later on in this album, that actually ends up working great.  But on “Sky’s Grey, it actually leaves a pretty bad taste in my mouth.  As far as Dan’s performance goes, there really isn’t anything I can be mad about.  His performance is honestly, just as beautiful and elegant as it’s always been, and it’s clear that Dan really hasn’t lost anything as far as that goes.  But in some ridiculous irony, later on in the track when things start to shape up instrumentally, Dan completely loses me lyrically.  Overall, let’s just say this track isn’t for me.  On the other hand, “In The Morning” instantly has a little crunch to it and almost a heaviness in the synths.  There’s actually a weird, semi-industrial feel to this which is something I really never thought I would hear from Dan.  But that’s exactly what it is, and it’s made even stronger by these wailing guitars and patient verses.  Now, Dan’s always worked with a whole lot of very classy production.  But “In The Morning” has a very minimal feel to it that actually comes off really striking.  That, added with Dan’s usual very poetic and endearing lyrics, makes for a really brilliant tune.  Up next is “Tinseltown Swimming in Blood”, and it’s weird because I really never expected to hear these very gloomy synth ballads from Dan.  He’s done downtrodden tracks plenty of times, but this is really a whole new level thanks to those very bleak synths.  There’s also a SERIOUS 80’s vibe to this, similarly to what we heard on album’s like “Kaputt”.  But all of that, alongside Dan’s very mysterious and cryptic yet beautiful performance, makes for a really stunning tune.  Now, this all comes at a price which may alienate some.  Dan’s usual very classy instrumentals are nowhere to be found.  Dan ends up making up for it since he’s such a damn good performer.  But if you’re into hearing Dan try something really different, so far this track has been seriously interesting.  Then we have “Cover From the Sun” which is striking on an entirely different level.  This one, on the other hand, is one of the sunniest and most pleasant tracks I’ve ever heard from Dan.  It’s sweet and endearing, and quite frankly one of the most straightforward tunes I’ve ever heard from Dan.  Of course, we’re still dealing with very abstract lyrics and great performances, so it’s still Destroyer at heart.  But man, I sort of wish “Cover From the Sun” was a little longer.  Still, this tune rules. 

    By the time “Saw You At the Hospital” rolls around, Dan has taken the synth vibe down a bit.  This one actually comes off like a track from “Kaputt” era Destroyer.  It’s very cryptic and comes off as some bizarre tune from some Art-School movie.  But to be honest, this is where I love hearing Dan the most.  The very light and delicate instrumentals are just so elegant, and once again I have the feeling like I’m in some sort of Indie Rock theatre.  I’m sort of surprised once again with how short “Saw You at the Hospital” is.  But man, this album so far has been surprisingly very pleasant.  The synths, however, return with a vengeance on “A Light Travels Down the Catwalk”.  But sort of like the intro to this album, this one sort of underwhelms me and comes off a little one dimensional.  I think Dan’s lyrics are really solid and thought-provoking here still, especially with that first line of “Strike and empty pose, a pose is always empty”.  So while I certainly do like elements to this, instrumentally this one is easily the most awkward here, almost like Dan used to this track to test out his entire synth sound.  However, Dan’s performance does save this one to an extent.  On the other hand, “Rome” is the sort of patient and seriously powerful track that does so much more for the synth sound that Dan is going for.  There’s a very retro feel in a lot of this production, and once again there’s a huge 80’s feel.  But it’s nothing that Dan hasn’t taken on in the past and mastered.  “Rome” is very hip for Destroyer, blending the smooth jazz and sort of 80’s vibes of “Kaputt”.  But outside of that, Dan just sounds miraculous on this one.  It’s one of his more straightforward performances here, and he seems to be just as patient as the pace of this track.  The result is a seriously intense and powerful ballad.  Up next is “Sometimes in the World”, and Dan never ceases to amaze with these opening liners (“I can’t pay for this, all I have is money” is an instant classic).  I like the dirtier and crunchier sound in this one, in a bizarre way there really are some of Destroyer’s heaviest tracks of all time on this album. But Dan adapts to it surprisingly really well and continues to remain the star.  The melodies are playful, the instrumentals are truly beautiful, and I seriously love just how majestic this one is.  Dan Bejar continues to completely outdo himself. 

    “Ivory Coast” sadly is a little messy right off the bat, and for the synth-driven tracks, this is easily the ugliest showing.  Here, there’s nothing nearly as ear-grabbing going on, and Dan sounds like a complete outsider.  But it’s more than, Dan doesn’t even sound nearly as interesting as this one.  His performance isn’t as artsy or delicate, and Dan doesn’t even seem like he has a lot to say which really sucks.  “Ivory Coast” just puts me to sleep sadly.  On the other hand, I love the instantly woozy synths on “Stay Lost” as well as Dan’s much bleaker performance.  This one is simple, but it feels like once again Dan is right back on track and hasn’t missed a step.  There’s almost a weird hopeful feel in this one very shining synths.  But like I said, Dan seemingly plays it simple on this one with lyrics.  But for one of the shortest tunes here, “Stay Lost” works for me.  "La Regle du Jeu” is our finale here, and instrumentally this is a little bizarre to hear from Dan.  As far as that goes, this is easily the most playful thing here.  It’s a quirky and bouncy atmosphere, which honestly isn’t exactly what I want to hear from Dan completely.  But I still think there’s a lot to dig here.  I love the very smooth verses that eventually show up, and Dan’s performance may be one of his most powerful and memorable here.  And while I’m not feeling the much quirkier instrumental, some of the others playing in the background is classy enough to make this work. 

Rating; 7.9/10

Give A Listen To:”In The Morning”, “Tinseltown Swimming In Blood”, “Cover From The Sun”, “Rome”

Genre: Indie Rock / Art Rock / Baroque Pop / Jazz

Overall Thoughts:  Ok, so when I heard this album was going to be dominated by synths, I really didn't know what to expect.  Dan really adapts the sound with his usally very classy Baroque Pop very nicely however.  The result is a series of the same sort of elegant and sweet Ballad's that Dan has been pushing out for years.  Is it going to be a classic?  Maybe, maybe not.  But for a guy on his 10th album or so to be sounding this good, it's really impressive.