Number 42

It would be virtually impossible to follow up a record like Destroyer’s last, the glowingly fascinating, Rubies, with something close to equal; and even though Dan Bejar and Co. don’t achieve what we dreamed for, their new one remains a very good effort in its own right. I’m talking about Trouble in Dreams, of course; which is their first record since stepping firmly out into the indie spotlight upon Rubies’ smashing critical acclaim, and deservedly so. Bejar’s voice alone is one that are among a select few in music that is entirely a force to be reckoned with, grasping onto signature whales, whispers, and moans that demand to be included as separate instruments themselves. When Trouble in Dreams is at its best, it is simply tremendous, like on the tracks Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape) and Dark Leaves From A Thread. Like a lot of follow-ups to great bands’ critical successes, this album provides what would be the most accessible set of songs to introduce yourself to Destroyer, if you happen to be a newcomer. If Trouble in Dreams sells you on their sound, then go for their career-best to date next, which is obviously the aforementioned Rubies. Once you hear that, you’re in love. Forever.

1.Blue Flower/Blue Flame
2.Dark Leaves From A Thread
3.The State
4.Foam Hands
5.My Favorite Year
6.Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape)
7.Introducing Angels
8.Rivers
9.Leopard of Honor
10.Plaza Trinidad
11.Libby’s First Sunrise

Hoewel hij al muziek maakt sinds 1996 is Destroyer pas onlangs onder de aandacht gekomen met het laatste album ‘Trouble In Dreams’. Op verschillende internationale blogs wordt er gedweept met zijn muziek. Op de radio hoor je de muziek echter enkel in de late uurtjes. Dat is jammer want deze plaat staat vol met juweeltjes van songs.

Hij wordt wel eens vergeleken met David Bowie en die vergelijking klopt ook grotendeels. Toch heeft Daniel Bejar zijn eigen specifieke kwaliteiten. Er is eerst en vooral die door merg en been dringende stem. Als je Bejar hoort zingen, lijkt het wel of Marlene Dietrich een heks probeert te imiteren. Dat unieke stemtimbre draagt bij tot het gevoel van wanhoop, van desolaatheid dat van de songs uitgaat.

Luister maar naar Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night’s Ape). Die eenzame, slepende gitaar neemt je mee naar de diepste regionen van zijn verbeelding: “I’ve got street despair carved into my heart!”. Pure poëzie, waarbij eenieder zijn eigen fantasie op hol kan laten slaan. Geen enkel beeld dat Destroyer je voorspiegelt, ligt voor de hand. Iedere luisteraar kan van elke strofe zijn eigen versie bedenken.

Zo maken wij van The State ons eigen private circus met roffelende trom, acrobaten, trapezekunstenaars die door het luchtruim zweven, dierentemmers die hun hoofd in de muil van de leeuw des levens steken. Uiteraard is er ook de clown die zichzelf voor schut zet voor het aanzicht der toeschouwers, maar hen tegelijkertijd een spiegel voorhoudt. En dan hebben we het enkel maar over de muziek. Dat is wat wij erin zien, maar het staat u volkomen vrij er uw eigen langspeelfilm bij te bedenken.

Muzikaal houdt de verwijzing naar Bowie zeker stek. Ook hij was iemand die nergens voor terugdeinsde, de gekste covers durfde te brengen, de wildste muziek te omhelzen. Hetzelfde geldt voor Destroyer: het ene moment brengt hij een dronkemanslied uit een zeemanscafé (Plaza Trinidad), het volgende lijkt hij weer een intiem liefdesliedje te zingen (Foam Hands), maar eigenlijk weet je het nooit en daarin ligt precies de charme van dit album, dat je bedwelmt als een drugsroes, waaruit je niet meer wilt ontwaken.

Daniel Bejar heeft met ‘Trouble In Dreams’ een schitterende plaat gemaakt, een plaat van een mysterieuze schoonheid. Maar voor hetzelfde geld zijn we gewoon behekst door die krakende oudewijvenstem. In dat geval hoeft u ons niet te komen redden.

Copyright : daMusic

Sé que las comparaciones, sobre todo en la música, muchas veces son infructuosas y desagradables. Sin embargo, esta vez, no puedo dejar de equiparar el trabajo musical del cerebro de Destroyer, Daniel Bejar, con algunos de los atributos que enarbolaron, en otra época, a músicos como Bob Dylan, David Bowie o Lou Reed. Al igual que ellos, el músico ha demostrado que, más allá de las melodías sugestivas, la actitud y el carácter determinan la postura de un verdadero creador, de un artista total. Su música, en todo caso, es una muestra de la constante exploración sonora, de su genio y sensibilidad.

[enlaces]
Destroyer
Comentario del disco en Super 45
Descargar el track Foam Hands (Mp3)

i believe this video is from the may 14th destroyer show in calgary.

this live version is a bit different, with the bridge in a different key than the version they played in vancouver, but it gives you a sense of how they pull it off live. in vancouver, this was one of the stronger songs of their set.

Τον τελευταίο καιρό δεν ακούω πολύ μουσική, μάλλον με θλίβει η Άνοιξη και οι αποφάσεις που δεν λένε να παρθούν. Ο Cold Mushrooms μονολογεί συνέχεια την μινιμαλιστική κι αυτοκαταστροφική φράση… «Δεν υπάρχω, ρε μαλάκα», ο Get Funky με παίρνει τις Κυριακές τηλέφωνο και μου τραγουδάει από την Λήμνο το σύνθημα του μήνα, «Θρύλε γερά, γερά και πάρτο στα χαρτιά», ο Rain Falls on Everyone την έχει δει ο Αλ Πατσίνο στο Άρωμα Γυναίκας, ο Wonderwall πήζει στην δουλειά ως συνήθως, ο γιαπωνέζος δεν μπορεί να ξεπεράσει το album των REM, ο Vertigo υποφέρει ακόμα από ίλιγγο και ο Loan Me a Dime αντί να τρέξει σε κυριακάτικα συλλαλητήρια της ομάδας του, βλέπει Prison Break και αναρωτιέται ακόμη γιατί η Άρσεναλ έφαγε τέσσερα από τη Λίβερπουλ ως ένας άλλος Νικ Χόρνμπυ.

Λοιπόν μια πεντάδα δίσκων (του 2008) που ακούω συχνά τώρα τελευταία καταπολεμώντας τα δέντρα που ανθίζουν.

Tapes ‘n Tapes… Walk It Off (Beggars Xl Recording)

Πριν από καιρό και μέσα στο Closer, με τον φίλο μου τον Αντώνη που είχα κάποιους χρόνους να τον δω, (για μια διετία δουλεύαμε μαζί στο δισκάδικο που τώρα βγάζει το ψωμί του ο γιαπωνέζος του blog), είχαμε πιάσει κουβέντα για το τι ακούει ο καθείς τον τελευταίο καιρό. Αφού «ανταλλάξαμε» κάμποσες μπάντες, μου το ρίχνει κάποια στιγμή. «Tapes ‘n Tapes φίλε, από την Μινεάπολη. «The Loon» το album…μεγάλη δισκάρα», μετά από κάνα μισάωρο ο Θωμάς Μαχαίρας που έβαζε μουσική κι έκανε τους κώλους μας να πηγαίνουν πέρα δώθε έβαλε ένα κομμάτι από το συγκεκριμένο δίσκο, (δεν θυμάμαι ποιο, too much alcohol) και ο Αντώνης δαιμονίζεται. « Τί είναι αυτό ρε συ;», ρωτάω. «Μά τα χίλια βινύλια», μου λέει, «ο άνθρωπος είναι στα κεφάλια μας… Tapes ‘n Tapes»! Το φετινό Walk It Off μ’ έκανε να ξεκολλήσω από την μουσική ανομβρία που με διέπει τον τελευταίο καιρό. Ειδικά το Hang them all είναι από τα τραγούδια που δεν ξεκολλάνε με τίποτα από το κεφάλι και τον κώλο σου. Ο δεύτερος δίσκος είναι πάντα και ο πιο δύσκολος αλλά τα παλικάρια μας τα κατάφεραν μια χαρά. Θυμίζει Pavement, Arcade Fire, Echo and the Bunnymen…όλα στο πιο άγριό τους.

Destroyer…Trouble In Dreams (Merge Records)

Ο πολυγραφότατος Καναδός κύριος Daniel Bejar (The New Pornographers), κυκλοφορεί τον ένατο δίσκο του ως Destroyer. Κάποιες φορές η φωνή του μου θυμίζει εκείνη του άλλου αξιότιμου κυρίου Jeff Kelly και ειδικά στο Libby’s First Sunrise που κλείνει τους εξαιρετικούς «Μπελάδες με τα Όνειρα», φαίνεται να έχει βγεί από τα πιο φωτεινο-σκότεινα κιτάπια των Green Pajamas. Στο Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape) σχεδόν απαγγέλλει ως ένας πιο «ελαφρύς» David Tibet καθώς μια μουσική πρόζα τον ακολουθεί με ακουστικές κιθάρες μπροστάρηδες. Ενώ ο δίσκος ωρύεται από μια David Bowie – ική μουσική φόρμουλα, (τι λέω ρε πούστη μου), καταλήγει από τα μισά και μετά σε μια ηθοποιητική εσωστρέφεια που προσωπικά πολύ με εξιτάρει μιας και με τους ανέστιους τροβαδούρους που απλά κλαίνε και λένε τον πόνο τους επιδεικτικά, έχω τελειώσει εδώ και πολύ καιρό.

Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan…Sunday at Devil Dirt (V2)

Νάτο το καμάρι μου! Αφού ξεμπέρδεψε με τον άλλον «βρομιάρη» και αφού ολοκληρωθεί και η τουρνέ του εξαιρετικού Saturnalia, ξεκινάει με την Isobelα καινούργιο γύρο. Κι όπως πολύ σωστά είπε κι ο Δασκαλόπουλος, πάλι θα πάθει υπερκόπωση μέσα στο καλοκαίρι και αυτά παθαίνει όποιος κόβει τα ξύδια λέω εγώ. Σε όποιον άρεσε το Ballad of the Broken Seas, (μεταξύ αυτών κι εγώ), Η «Κυριακή του βρομιάρη διαβόλου» δεν θα τον αφήσει παραπονεμένο. Οι ήχοι είναι ίδιοι, η ατμόσφαιρα αυτή που ξέρατε και οι συνθέσεις που ξεχωρίζουν είναι το εναρκτήριο Seafaring Song, το αλλά slow εκτέλεση στο I put a spell on you, Come On Over (Turn Me On), το εξαιρετικό μπλουζιάρικο The Flame that Burns και το λα λα – διάρικο Who Built The Road που λένε αγκαζέ. Εκπλήξεις δεν υπάρχουν, αλλά όπως έχω ξαναπεί, ο θείος Mark και κατάλογο εστιατορίου να τραγουδήσει, εμένα πάλι τέλειος θα μου φανεί. Κολλήματα είναι αυτά! Στο Sunday at Devil Dirt πάντως, λέει περισσότερα τραγούδια από τις μπαλάντες της θάλασσας.

Malcolm Middleton… Sleight of Heart (Full Time Hobby)

Τα τελευταία βράδια αυτής της εποχής ο μπροστάρης των Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton παρέα με μέλη των αγαπημένων Delgados και Mogwai (αθάνατη Chemical Underground records) με σιγοντάρει με την κιθάρα του μπας και την βγάλω καθαρή με τους γραφιστικούς μπελάδες που μ’ έχουν βρει. Έτσι κάπου εκεί στις 2 το πρωί το Sleight of Heart θρονιάζεται στην σιντιέρα, τα κρασιά δίνουν και παίρνουν και ο Middleton με την κιθάρα και την βελούδινη φωνή του μου τα λέει για τους θανάτους και τους έρωτες. Εκεί που κολλάς με το album όμως, είναι η διασκευή στο Stay της Madonna που βρίσκεται στο Like A Virgin και πραγματικά δεν το αναγνωρίζεις (φυσικά). Ο Middleton δίνει μια από τις πιο ύπουλες ερμηνείες του, κάνει το τραγούδι εντελώς δικό του μονάχα από τους στίχους και όπως έχω ξανασυζητήσει με μουσικούς συνδαιτυμόνες, κάτι τέτοιες εκτελέσεις είναι η έννοια της διασκευής σε τραγούδια!

Spiritualized…Songs in A and E (Universal)

Τραγούδια γραμμένα μετά από Accidents και συνθέσεις φτιαγμένες σε Emergency καταστάσεις. Αυτό τουλάχιστον μας πληροφορεί ο κύριος Jason Pierce πως σημαίνουν τα αρχικά Α και Ε που βαφτίζουν το τελευταίο του άλμπουμ. Ένας δίσκος χωρισμένος σε έξι αριθμημένες instrumental αρμονίες και ανάμεσα σε αυτές το γνωστό μουσικό ύφος αυτού του ιδιοφυούς κι αγαπημένου τραγουδοποιού. Κι ενώ ξεκινάει με το ονειρικό Sweet Talk όπου τα κοριτσάκια σαν gospel χορωδία από πίσω του κάνουν τα δικά τους, εκείνος μιλάει για αγγέλους και οικογένειες, στο ακριβώς επόμενο Death Take Your Fiddle (με τα ίδια κοριτσάκια), εκείνος βυθίζεται στα σκοτάδια του ερμηνεύοντας τουλάχιστον σπαρακτικά. Ακριβώς μετά το κεφάλι του θα πάρει φωτιά ο δαίμονας θα μπεί στο μυαλό του και θα μας χαρίσει ένα καταιγιστικό και πιασάρικο συνάμα, I Gotta Fire. Κι επειδή το παλικάρι μας είναι τρελό εδώ και χρόνια και με τη φωτιά έχει ένα κόλλημα κι ένα χρέος απ’ ότι φαίνεται, στο Soul On Fire αρχίζει να μπάζει και την ορχήστρα στο κόλπο φέρνοντάς μας στ’ αυτιά ήχους από το εξαιρετικό Amazing Grace. Το αγαπημένο όμως τραγούδι από το A&E λέγεται You Lie You Cheat. Οι κιθάρες μπουκώνουν τα πάντα, τα τύμπανα χτυπάνε ανελέητα, ο Pierce ουρλιάζει στα μικρόφωνα σαν απατημένος και η ορχήστρα από πίσω του δημιουργεί ένα κολαστήριο που θυμίζει πολύ εκείνο του παρελθοντικού έπους του Out of Sight. Από εκεί και κάτω τα πράγματα παίρνουν μια πιο βατή φόρμα, ο Jason χαλιναγωγεί τους ήχους του, δίνει αναπνοή στα όργανα για να φτάσει στο τέλος και να μας καληνυχτίσει με ένα πανέμορφο Good Night Goodnight.

Το ‘κανες πάλι το θαύμα σου αγόρι μου!

Written by Arturo Bandini

]]> http://jerrygrit.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/march-downloads/ Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:13:45 +0000 jerrygrit http://jerrygrit.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/march-downloads/

This would have been up earlier, had I not erased the first version. Oh blog posts…easy come, easy go, not so easy coming back. And don’t get me started on WordPress’ new formatting limitations. So here’s a shorter, less funny and image-restricted version.

This month was an even more insane for music accumulation than both January and February combined. The mere prospect of documenting every album I now have gives me a stomach ache. So I’m limiting this post to albums I had a chance to think about. Even though it only represents about like 10%. I still have this glut problem. But I still appreciate all of it. Unless it stinks. 

Michael Showalter – Sandwiches and Cats This should have been funnier. I was just as disappointed with the Michael Ian Black CD. What happened to these guys? They are so stand-up-comedy-ish. The “clean penis” bit is great, but nothing of the genius of the State. It’s still old school observational comedy. But I may be overestimating the State from the 3 episodes I kind of watched.

Dengue Fever – Venus on Earth Chhom Nimol’s voice is the seller here. Their whole kitschy Cambodian pop shtick has been getting a lot of hype lately (Fresh Air?), and it’ll be too bad if her voice gets overlooked when the balloon bursts. She’s had to have been with better bands. If you can recommend a better album, I’m all ears.

Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash God bless Stephen Malkmus. He’s been a seminal influence, he always impresses live, but the fear is his solo output has diminishing returns. He’s like the George Lucas of indie pop, where Pavement are like the solid original trilogy and all the solo stuff are the treacly goofy prequel mess…okay, that’s unfair. But still, I think he needs a band, he needs someone to prevent him from indulging every eccentricity. Would it be so bad if he just joined the Jicks? It doesn’t matter, I guess. I’ll still buy it. “Wicked Wanda” is pretty good.

Thao – We Brave Bee Stings and All “Beat” is my new running song. And I feel good about running to it. It earns its driving force, without programmed beats or gimmicky loudness, but with a catchy and rhythmic hook. I feel like hitting myself at points. So it’s been weird. I’m happy, I’m running, I’m hitting myself.

Atlas Sound – Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See I need more soft noises to drown out the dumb sounds of a college town. And this one does the job nicely. Not a memorable tune in the bunch, though. But I put it on to forget it, so no surprise that I don’t remember anything.

The Gutter Twin – Saturnalia Much better than I thought. The terrible band name for the Greg Dulli-Mark Lanegan collaboration was bested (or “worsted”) by an even more awful album name. Who wants to think of these fogeys engaging in an orgy, ritual-based or not. But still they’re backed by a great band and they continue and build upon with cool shady guy reps. No real standouts, but this is an old fashioned album. Good for night listening. If you buy into either of their vibes, like I do, you’ll be happy with it. But it’s not canon-bound.

Betty Davis – They Say I’m Different Wow. This was made 34 years ago? It’s like a coked up Erikyah Badu got in a time machine and crashed into Sly and the Family Stone’s garage (Overblown Time Machine Simile #1). I’m not a funk fan. It’s faux cool bothers me. But she keeps it pretty weird. “He was a big freak/I whipped with him tourquoise chain”…What?

Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams Another Dan Behar album. I’m onboard with the schtick, but it’s not for everyone. And it’s not as great as This Night or Streethawk—which have moments where you might actually identify with Dan. Nope, you gotta set sail here. I haven’t listened to it that much. Too busy playing the Destroyer Drinking Game

She & Him – Volume One I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. It’s like M. Ward got in a time machine, picked up Carly Simon on a lonely day, and hung out at Phil Spector’s studio during its gaveyard shift (Overblown Time Machine Simile #2). Still, it may be offering up its pleasures too easily.

John Cale – Paris 1918 I still don’t know who he is, but this is of course excellent, elegant and well-crafted. It feels like I should already have this, like I’ve lost $15 while simultaneously finding an old cd.

Los Campesinos! – Hold On Now, Youngster I like it, but I’m a little skeptical of the let’s-get-ecstatic-by-the-beauty-we-create thing. Or that means I’m bitter.

The Everybodyfields – Nothing Is Okay My family makes fun of me for loving unapologetically sad albums like this. Screw them. They ache and wrench beautifully. Canon bound. 

Tift Merritt – Another Country The song I love the best is the one my father taught to me. “The kindness of a stranger is dust from an unseen wing. But an old friend at my table is by far the finest thing this tired mile could give to me.” The colors of the man I love are deepest blue and green and it isn’t very often that I say just what I mean, ’cause the feeling seems to scatter and these words fall in between. For what I miss, I’ll just tell you this. It’s something to me.

eMusic is soliciting questions for Dan Bejar (aka Destroyer), whose album Trouble in Dreams came out this month and who is currently on tour. Send your questions to asktheartist@emusic.com before this Tuesday, April 1st, and keep an eye out for the interview, scheduled to be on the eMusic homepage during the week of April 21st. Bejar’s lyrics are notoriously obscure – now’s your chance for some enlightenment. What I really want to ask about the New Pornographers’ concert in Boston last fall: “Dude, was that really an orange in your hand when you wandered onstage to sing?”

Dan Bejar, sounding even more like Robyn Hitchcock than I’ve previously noticed, is back with a full band for Vancouver B.C. based Destroyer’s latest album, Trouble In Dreams. The result is that his lyrics, as thorny and literate and frequently profane as ever, are awash in music with an often sweeping, epic feel, as on tracks like “Rivers” and the eight minute long “Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night’s Ape).” Bejar’s vocals often sound less like singing than him giving a dramatic recitation of some poetry, which may turn off some listeners, but for the most part, it’s really effective. It took until track three, “The State,” for me to really warm to the material here, but once I did, I found Trouble In Dreams to be a very compelling, impressive work, even with its occasional imperfections. Standout cuts: “The State,” “Foam Hands,” “Rivers” and “Libby’s First Sunday.”

http://www.myspace.com/destroyer
http://www.mergerecords.com/store/store_detail.php?catalog_id=519

Destroyer’s eighth album, Trouble in Dreams, could be the perfect album from the 70s that you never heard. Like John Darnielle’s, Dan Bejar’s distinctive voice polarizes listeners; if you didn’t enjoy his previous album, Destroyer’s Rubies, you probably won’t like this one either, although the vocal acrobatics are less in evidence. But Bejar writes songs that are both listenable and interesting, both lyrically (inventive phrasing about time-honoured topics, like women) and musically, foregoing the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure, but still remaining – well, catchy is probably too strong a word – but certainly you’ll hear his songs in your head. This characteristic of his songwriting came home to me when I realized that, despite my devotion to the three-minute pop song, my favourite song on the album was the eight-minute long epic “Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape). Bejar is widely compared to David Bowie, although I have to say that this album sounds more like early Roxy Music to me – in a good way, not in a boringly derivative way – especially “The State.” Trouble in Dreams definitely holds up to repeated listening and is worth checking out.

amazon emusic

MP3: Destroyer – The State

the destroyer records, as a body, represent the ever-changing mood and experimental nature of their leader, dan bejar, who has played with a rotating cast of musicians since thief. with the release of destroyer’s rubies in 2006, it seemed that bejar had reached the apex of his songcraft, with extremely rich, mature, varied compositions that fit snugly together in one cohesive unit. with trouble in dreams, he pushes forward with the rubies players, and the songs and overall feel of the record resemble rubies more than any previous release. however, dan is an experimental songwriter at his core, so while the overall signature of trouble in dreams resembles his previous work, trouble introduces a space and individuality into the tracks, creating a someewhat disconnected effect–it’s true that trouble in dreams works as a collection of songs assembled, and not as a cohesive, masterful, singly-wrought unit such as rubies.

within each song, bejar simplifies his hallmark wordplay and masterful and intricate instrumentation, and shoots straight for the structural and emotional essence of the songs he’s written. and with minor exception, he succeeds on his own terms of operating within the language of pop and rock convention and nuance. oddly, his rare missteps come only when he does what’s likely most natural to him: start with art damage and move it into the pop canon. that said, here’s a deeper look at the record, song by song.

trouble in dreams opens with “blue flower/blue flame”, which could be an ode to his hello, blue roses project with main squeeze sydney vermont. it’s a swooning act of arch dedication, and a powerful opening track that’s quite different from the brilliant, spontaneous-feeling “rubies” from his last record. “dark leaves from a thread” follows, another strong track that holds steady and could be at home on any recent destroyer record. the raucous “the state” follows, and it’s here that bejar’s rambunctious guitar work brings to mind some of the more dissonant moments of this night or maybe “sick priest” from rubies. The first single, “foam hands” follows, which stands solidly as a beautiful, quizzical song that hearkens the recent prose of don delillo more than anything else. “my favorite year” is a true original and strong closer to the first side of the record. so far, so good–a very strong side of individualistic, even idiosyncratic pop songs that merge the best of bejar’s previoius work with some subtle new ideas.

“shooting rockets (from the desk of night’s ape)” leads off side B, and it proves to be a strange choice for trouble. dan does well to doctor the melodies and harmonies buried in the shambling dirge of the original “shooting rockets” on swan lake’s beast moans, which has the effect of polishing a rough stone. the original was the stuff of trouble in dreams; it’s the sort of song that goes through your head when you’ve eaten something questionable and have nightmares later. in that sense, reworking it here works as a pun of effect (which is dan’s sort of thing), and is definitely a curiosity that will excite hardcore swan lake and frog eyes fans. otherwise, like that thing you ate, this remake of “shooting rockets” will wake you up at night somewhat unpleasantly, and despite the relative tidiness of its newfound pop arrangements, it stands out as the least digestable track on the record.

the rest of “trouble in dreams” returns to form. the lovely, rolling “introducing angels” captures the beauty of connecting with a lover through shared painful past experiences, while “Rivers” and “Leopard of Honor” introduce some new song structures that are bound to turn some new heads. Only “plaza trinidad” comes close to a weakness (it feels more like a new pornographers song), a shadow to be extinguished by the light of “libby’s first sunrise” which closes the record as beautifully as “blue flower/blue flame” opens it.

while by no means the critical masterpiece that “destroyer’s rubies” was or is destined to become, “trouble in dreams” is a mostly solid rock record populated with more straightforward songs somewhat bereft of bejar’s more outrageous signature flamboyance. bejar has given us many incredibly beautiful moments throughout his career, though they have been lodged in a more common or alternatively characterized material, more often than not. but if the love of beautiful songs is why you listen to destroyer, or why you would be compelled to try, trouble in dreams is the most accessible and aesthetically pleasing introduction you can pick. that’s because on trouble, dan has managed to sharpen his focus on the infinite possibilities of the song as individual unit of expression and for the first time in his career seems less compelled to reinvent himself wholesale. while he occasionally missteps, on “trouble in dreams” bejar assembles a mostly great collection of songs, and while it’s not the genius of rubies, a more street-level form of expertise is in play on trouble, and it’s more than worthy of praise.

Rating: B+/A-

i acquired a copy of destroyer’s “trouble in dreams” tonight. i have listened to it a couple of times. it’s safe to say that i’m still absorbing it. i’ve been poking around on the web looking for songs, bits of commentary, and anything to substantiate that there will be a double LP release concurrent with the full eleven-track release. of course, a double LP holds the promise of bonus tracks, and i sure wouldn’t mind more of loscil’s treatments of dan’s songs.

but i guess i’m here tonight to talk about trouble in dreams. and rule #1 is that i’m not going to talk about it yet. i may wait until it’s released before i review it, if i can hold out that long. suffice it to say that will be difficult, but that said, it’s also almost impossible to say something meaningful about a destroyer record after the first couple of spins.

i’ll only say that, after you read the review found here, i can tell you that i might tend to disagree with the author’s assessment, though i appreciate the spirit of his summary.

foam hands

i’m working on confirming, but i think this is the album version.

see also pitchfork breakin’ the news.

also, looking forward to more from hello blue roses and of course a new swan lake in 2008.

the new destroyer record, trouble in dreams, is due out on merge records on march 18, 2008, according to a recent, new entry in wikipedia.

Trouble in Dreams on Wikipedia
Trouble in Dreams on the Destroyer wiki

source: facebook
from: sled island festival 2007
live in edmonton 2007

foam hands
rivers
the state

i guess these could show up on the new record. they’ve been known of for about six months.

who wouldn’t kill for those guitar tones? especially on “foam hands”–christ.

source: facebook
from: sled island festival 2007
live in edmonton 2007

foam hands
rivers
the state

i guess these could show up on the new record. they’ve been known of for about six months.

who wouldn’t kill for those guitar tones? especially on “foam hands”–christ.

upon returning from vancouver, i debated about whether to blog a piece of news i heard while there. i’m not naming the source, so it’s probably ok to push this out as a trustworthy rumor, even though everybody knows that pushing rumors around isn’t exactly the smartest strategy. but, hey, this is fatal strategies so . . . today is your lucky day. score one for the dumbfuck.

a new destroyer record is in the can, and has been mastered. i don’t know how long it has been done, but it’s done and people are listening to it. i don’t have any song titles. i didn’t catch a name, but i did hear an account that Dan Bejar did not radically reinvent himself or his sound for the new record. he’s continuing along the same path he embarked on with Destroyer’s Rubies. no word yet on the Merge site or blog about a Destroyer record, so one can only speculate about a release date, title, song titles, format, etc. could be that Bejar is, as he mentioned in at least one interview after Destroyer’s Rubies was released, taking a long break from Destroyer and that he’ll get back to releasing records once he’s done.

and it’s not like he hasn’t been busy. his songs on The New Pornographers’ Challengers are great, who knows what’s up with Swan Lake, and the guy probably has an old lady to hang with and a bunch of esoteric texts and influences to absorb and let swim around up there.