1996–2001
We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, Destroyer's 1996 debut, is made up of sixteen lo-fi home-recordings. One reviewer suggested that the album combines Bejar's "gift for melodies" with “a concerted effort to make the recording downright inconsumable; the guitars are always out of tune, and the vocals of Fisher-Price quality. 'Static means punk / tuning is junk,' Bejar moans on one track.” [5] (Ideas for Songs, released on cassette in 1997, features songs akin to those on his first album. The cassette stemmed from a request to contribute songs for a compilation album.[6])
As Bejar gained popularity in Vancouver's music scene, he was joined by producer John Collins for 1998's City of Daughters, which was recorded at a proper studio. Pitchfork noted that the songs still sounded "homespun," also noting "[t]he wordiness that would become something of a trademark is in full effect," but that "unlike much of what came later, not every line is worthy of examination."[7]
Thief (2000) embodied "Bejar's first stab at matching his grandiose, idiosyncratic vision to a showier sound;" it was the first to feature a backing band on every track.[8] The record's "anthemic yet understated"[9] piano-driven ballads have characteristically enigmatic lyrics, though some reviewers interpreted them as critiques of the music industry.[10][11]
Streethawk: A Seduction (2001) realized the sonic refinement started with City of Daughters. Bejar put it this way: "I don't think it gives credence to any kind of conceptualization of the records, but I hope that City of Daughters, Thief, and Streethawk will pop into some kind of a progression that ends with Streethawk.“ [12] A critical success, the album (retrospectively) received a rating of 9.1/10 from Pitchfork.[7]
2002–2007
The 2002 rock album This Night was a dramatic change in style. The looser, less rehearsed style was criticized as "messy [and] haphazard without purpose,"[13] though other critics praised the "beautiful mess of sounds" as "challenging... [and] a powerful, cohesive whole."[11] In a 2006 interview (after the release of Your Blues and Destroyer's Rubies), Bejar said the album "came together pretty quickly - we probably could have used more than four or five days to mix the whole thing, but that's all hindsight. It's still my favorite Destroyer record."[12]
Your Blues (2004) saw Destroyer take another unexpected turn, using MIDI instrumentation for almost all the backing music. Bejar coined the term "European blues" to describe its unique, theatrical sound.[14] One reviewer pointed out that "Bejar’s unusual voice sounds more confident, and higher up" in the synth-rich arrangements.[15] In yet another twist, the EP Notorious Lightning & Other Works reworked six tracks from the record with a live band, the very thing the LP had forsaken (the band was Frog Eyes, who toured with Destroyer in support of Your Blues).
Bejar returned with a live band for 2006's Destroyer's Rubies, delivering arguably his most confident record up to that point. The backing band took new-found prominence and, according to Bejar, "[t]he production seems... warm and lush and pretty focused on just making the band sound good and having everything sit well together."[12] NOW Magazine observed, "[w]hile the sheer density of Bejar’s writing can be overwhelming, Destroyer’s Rubies is, on a musical level, the most ’accessible’ disc he’s released."[16]
2008–2013
For Trouble in Dreams (2008), "there was a scary lack of ideas coming into the record," Bejar admitted.[17] Destroyer's piano player Ted Bois took it upon himself, as an alternative to keyboard and piano accompaniment, to create all string and synth arrangements for the songs.[17] At the time, Bejar said it was the "hardest record" to make.[17]
After the 2009 EP Bay of Pigs came 2011's full-length album, Kaputt (featuring a slightly modified "Bay of Pigs" track). Bejar cited influences such as Miles Davis and Roxy Music for his new jazz-infused, lounge music-inspired, sophisti-pop direction. In multiple interviews, Bejar variously stressed that he "sang in a completely different manner, almost unconscious of even singing, more like speaking into a vacuum, and was really happy with the results."[18][19] The record entailed a number of firsts for Destroyer: first national television performance (on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon); first official music video; first female backing vocals; and the first time Bejar performed without an instrument on tour - his concentration placed solely on his singing. Kaputt was short listed for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize [20] and was Pitchfork's second best album of 2011.[21]
Although smaller in scale, Destroyer's fourth EP "Five Spanish Songs" continued to surprise listeners. Sung entirely in Spanish, Bejar covered songs by Sr. Chinarro (es). Bejar's own tongue-in-cheek press release announcing the new songs began: "It was 2013. The English language seemed spent, despicable, not easily singable."[22]
2014–present
Bejar released Poison Season on August 28, 2015. Bejar notes that the album's sound grew from "just really getting into what we were sounding like playing live [following Kaputt]."[4] Bejar added that he would not have been able to make such an ambitious album if Kaputt had not been successful.[23] Recorded with a live band and a pronounced string section, the album's "grand cinematic set of songs"[23] feature Bejar singing with a broader range than before: "This is the first record that I've ever done that comes close to my idea of myself as a singer," Bejar said.[24]
In 2017, Bejar released ken.
Blue Flower/Blue Flame
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
even the sky looks like wine,
and everywhere I turn there's
a new face in town
stuck inside the well
fresh hells to attend to...
Blue flower, blue flame
a woman by another name is not a woman.
Don't know why,
don't know when,
a cathedral sick of the sky again
says to it
"Oh, please not now!
Will you just look at the time
it's standing still!"
Somewhere applause falls dead on the hillside...
Blue flower, blue flame
a woman by another name is not a woman.
I'll tell you what I mean by that.
Maybe not in seconds flat,
maybe not today...
Blue flower, blue flame
a woman by another name is not a woman.
I'll tell you what I mean by that.
Maybe not in seconds flat,
maybe never.
A gray ashen sadness rises like the sun, oh well.
It was time I decided to try this hotel:
Her world...
Tulip has an inner animal,
she's in it for a good time.
I was on the outs for a while
but now things are all right.
I gave you a flower because foxes travel light
and a penny for your thoughts was never enough
your head gets filled with that stuff.
The Destroyer's song "Blue Flower/Blue Flame" begins with the lyric "Okay, fine, even the sky looks like wine" which suggests some kind of intoxication, a desire to escape. The following lines "and everywhere I turn there's a new face in town stuck inside the well fresh hells to attend to..." paints a picture of a place that is overwhelming, claustrophobic, imprisoning. The repetition of the word "hell" indicates that this place is far from desirable. The chorus of the song, "Blue flower, blue flame, a woman by another name is not a woman" is a mysterious and mystical line. The alliteration of blue flower and blue flame creates a sense of a parallel between the two. This line is repeated throughout the song and is likely meant to be interpreted in many different ways.
The second verse brings religious imagery into the song with the lyric "Don't know why, don't know when, a cathedral sick of the sky again says to it, 'Oh, please not now! Will you just look at the time, it's standing still!'" There is a sense in this verse that something is not right - the cathedral is "sick of the sky" and the time is "standing still". The final line of this verse "Somewhere applause falls dead on the hillside" is both ominous and melancholic.
The final verse gives us a glimpse into the world of Tulip, who seems to be a character in the song. The lyrics "Tulip has an inner animal, she's in it for a good time" suggests a kind of freedom and abandon that the singer is longing for. The final line, "your head gets filled with that stuff" reinforces the idea that sometimes it is necessary to escape the confines of one's own mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Okay, fine, even the sky looks like wine, and everywhere I turn there's a new face in town stuck inside the well fresh hells to attend to...
The singer recognizes that life is full of difficulties and challenges, and no matter where he turns, there always seems to be a new one waiting. He feels stuck and overwhelmed.
Blue flower, blue flame a woman by another name is not a woman.
The phrase 'a woman by another name is not a woman' suggests that a person's identity is essential and that it transcends the labels others place on them. The blue flower and blue flame may represent the singer's own identity, which remains constant despite his circumstances.
Don't know why, don't know when, a cathedral sick of the sky again says to it Oh, please not now! Will you just look at the time, it's standing still! Somewhere applause falls dead on the hillside...
The singer describes a surreal scene where a cathedral is 'sick of the sky' and wants it to go away. The 'applause falls dead' may signify a moment of disappointment or disillusionment. The overall feeling is one of anxiety and uncertainty.
I'll tell you what I mean by that. Maybe not in seconds flat, maybe not today...
The phrase 'I'll tell you what I mean by that' suggests that the singer has something important to say about the idea of identity and self. However, he acknowledges that it may take time or effort to fully articulate his thoughts.
A gray ashen sadness rises like the sun, oh well. It was time I decided to try this hotel: Her world...
The singer compares his sadness to a rising sun, suggesting that it is an ever-present force in his life. The phrase 'it was time I decided to try this hotel' may mean that he is searching for a new place or mindset to escape his sadness. 'Her world' could refer to a specific person or a different way of thinking.
Tulip has an inner animal, she's in it for a good time. I was on the outs for a while but now things are all right.
The singer describes another person, Tulip, who seems to be carefree and enjoying life. He contrasts this with his own struggles, but ends on a hopeful note that things are improving for him.
I gave you a flower because foxes travel light and a penny for your thoughts was never enough your head gets filled with that stuff.
The singer explains why he gave someone a flower, which seems to relate to their shared experiences of trying to lighten their loads. He suggests that material possessions (a penny) are not enough to solve their problems or alleviate their concerns.
Contributed by Eva A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.