It was 2013. The English language seemed spent, despicable, not easily singable. It felt over for English; good for business transactions, but that's about it. The only other language I know is Spanish, and the only Spanish songs I really know are those of Sr. Chinarro, led by Antonio Luque. I've been a decades-long fan of how he conducted his affairs, his strange words, his melodies that have always felt so natural (this is important), his bitter songs about painting the light. Something about them, I knew I could do it....
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Fri July 10, 2015 4:53 am
by psychobain
New album leaked and
Bangkok is fantastic
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Fri July 10, 2015 11:56 am
by Simple Torture
Already? That shit don't come out for another month and a half!
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun February 16, 2020 12:37 am
by georgesavage
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 5:41 am
by psychobain
June is such a good tune
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 8:29 am
by Anders
They are good, but have never been able to top or match prime The New Pornographers.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 4:00 pm
by Mickey
Anders wrote:They are good, but have never been able to top or match prime The New Pornographers.
This is your worst opinion yet.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 4:03 pm
by Mickey
Destroyer Records Ranked:
Rubies
Streethawk: A Seduction
Kaputt
This Night
Labyrinthitis
Trouble In Dreams
Have We Met
ken
Your Blues
City of Daughters
Thief
Poison Season
Top four are all-timers for me.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 5:02 pm
by Anders
Mickey wrote:
Anders wrote:They are good, but have never been able to top or match prime The New Pornographers.
This is your worst opinion yet.
I love The New Pornographers. One of the best bands out there. Do listen to Destroyer as well, just can't help but compare the two.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sat July 30, 2022 6:16 pm
by Mickey
Anders wrote:
Mickey wrote:
Anders wrote:They are good, but have never been able to top or match prime The New Pornographers.
This is your worst opinion yet.
I love The New Pornographers. One of the best bands out there. Do listen to Destroyer as well, just can't help but compare the two.
Completely the opposite for me. The New Pornographers are a Destroyer side project, like Swan Lake. Don't dislike them but don't really feel much for them either. Destroyer is easily one of my favorite recording artists
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 10:49 am
by chewm
they hit different spots for me, but I do get much more out of destroyer's music. pretty sure I'd enjoy to hear Dan Bejar ramble over anything. Kaputt is easily like a top 10 album ever (top 5 maybe? who cares), the new one is one of my favs of the year
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 10:52 am
by chewm
ranking of what I've heard
Kaputt
Rubies
Streethawk
Poison Season
LABYRINTHITIS
Your Blues
Have We Met
at some point I'll properly get into the rest, really like all of these
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 4:06 pm
by Mickey
Interesting to see Poison Season that high. I found it pretty forgettable but I should give it another listen.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 4:25 pm
by Mickey
Gonna post a track from each Destroyer album, running chronologically, as a sort of ad-hoc introduction.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 4:33 pm
by Mickey
We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge (1996)
Destroyer's first album, re-released in the mid-00s. Super low-fi and not worth spending much time with unless you're a completionist (I didn't even bother ranking it, but it would be last). If you squint you can see some of the songwriting impulses which would eventually become canon. Most interesting are probably the tracks that eventually ended up on New Pornographers releases, including the excellent "Streets of Fire," which sounds like a demo here:
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 6:17 pm
by Mickey
City of Daughters (1998)
The first real album, to my mind. Most of the arrangements are still pretty stripped-down and stand at a significant distance from the woozy full-band tracks you'd find on This Night, but the recording is elevated to a professional level and really allows Bejar's lyrical flair to shine. "No Cease Fires" is a favorite, but "The Space Race" is another great track.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 6:19 pm
by Malloy
one of the best things i ever did on this bored was a bejar thread but most of the links that held it together are dead.
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Sun July 31, 2022 6:21 pm
by Malloy
anyway, he’s brilliant
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Mon August 01, 2022 12:39 am
by Mickey
Thief (2000)
This one ranks pretty low on my list, as I always felt like it was a bit of a tune-up for the more accomplished Streethawk, somehow both less cohesive and more restrained. But I revisited it this weekend and there's so many great tracks. The songs really have space to breathe with the full band backing. "In Dreams" is a great example
Re: Destroyer
Posted: Mon August 01, 2022 12:44 am
by Mickey
Streethawk: A Seduction (2001)
The first of the great records. Still working in the tighter vein of the early releases (at least compared to what comes later) but you can see the sound getting more complex (especially on tracks like "The Bad Arts"). It's also the first album that feels like it was conceived as an album and not just a collection of songs--the pacing in particular is really strong. You can hear a lot of Bowie here. "English Music" has been a long-time favorite.
