Destroyer
Destroyer is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia fronted by si… Read Full Bio ↴Destroyer is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar and formed in 1995. Destroyer songs are characterized by abstract, poetic lyrics and idiosyncratic vocals. The band's discography draws on a variety of musical influences, resulting in albums that can sound markedly distinct from one another; in Bejar's words, "That's kind of my goal: to start from scratch every time."
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.
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.
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Destroyer Lyrics
03-Beggars Might Ride Beggars might ride you into doing one thing When humiliation…
05-English Music Soldier, you got to get out more. There is life after…
3000 Flowers She was part of an inner circle Daughters of the mother…
A Dangerous Woman Up To A Point A Dangerous Woman Up To A Point once said -…
A Light Travels Down the Catwalk Strike an empty pose A pose is always empty The girl sure…
Actor's Revenge An An actor will seek revenge I don't know why and I…
Archer On The Beach Careful now, watch your step, in you go The Ash King's…
Babieca La noche pasada soñé que Murcia iba a desaparecer, la noch…
Bad Arts Absolve, absolve, absolve We spent the better part of the da…
Bangkok Like you, I've been around the world, seen a million…
Bay Of Pigs Soon Soon Listen, I've been drinking As our house lies in ru…
Beggars Might Ride Beggars might ride you into doing one thing When humiliation…
Blue Eyes You terrify the land You are pestle and mortar Your first lo…
Blue Flower Blue Flame Okay, fine, even the sky looks like wine, and everywhere I…
Breakin' the Law I can never place the name with the face. I can…
Bye Bye Pero tú de qué vas, ya no pisaré tu dique de…
Canadian Lover / Falcon's Escape Canadian Lover, don't demean yourself, Though I know you, a…
Certain Things You Ought to Know One Two Three Four It was cunning it was done with style I…
Chinatown You can't believe The way the wind's talking to the sea I…
City of Daughters Oh, City of Daughters, Is that what you wanted to be? Oh,…
Comments on the World as Will O, to shy away from days of opulence, Of fakings, and…
Crimson Tide I was lying, the laziest river A vulture predisposed to eati…
Crossover You come down from the mountain They lose your scent in…
Crystal Country So This is Crystal Country, where refugees flee like I fly.…
Cue Synthesizer Did you realize it was hollow? Like everything that's come b…
Dark Leaves Form A Thread Susan, the truth is, sipping sherry branded by moonlight's …
Dark Purposes Maybe it stands to reason: boys set fire to the seasons. The…
Death on the Festival Circuit I mew and crow to fight my way through the…
Del monton Cerca fue del castillo, El de San Sebastián, De las barcas q…
Destroyer's the Temple And though the solitudes have won, I cannot begin to crave…
Don't Become the Thing You Hate Don't become Don't become The thing you hated The thing you …
Downtown I was just getting used To having you round you And wanderin…
Dream Lover Dream lover, I know Someone's idea of fun You and me thought…
El rito Dale que toma, toma que dale baila que se marchen las…
English Music (English music) Soldier, you got to get out more There is l…
European Oils I made a tomb for all the incompatible cells I…
Farrar Straus %26 Giroux It was back amongst the living, Your smile was giving me…
Farrar Straus & Giroux It was back amongst the living Your smile was giving me…
Farrar Strauss & Giroux It was back amongst the living, Your smile was giving me…
Foam Hands True love regrets to inform you There are certain things yo…
foolssong And with what shall I fix The hole in the bucket,…
forces from above Forces from above denied you the right to be free…
From Oakland to Warsaw You lost your serve You lost your swing You thought you'd he…
Girl in a Sling Two stars Three stars The night sky above Used to mean every…
Goddess of Drought My work was a sham, your work was a sham I…
Grief Point The journal starts late: six weeks into the making of…
Haunted Clay-Doh the World Destroyer Unh What up, G R X Y (haanh) Wh…
Helena Helena, the ramifications are very large tonight The stars s…
Here Comes the Night All the skies opened up and now they're mentioning your name…
Hey Snow White Hey Snow White, it's gonna be all right It's gonna be…
Holly Going Lightly I was stark I was ravening I was idle in…
I as McCarthy One standing trick "Play dead," you said Holdin' up the hoop…
I Have Seen a Light I have seen a light I have seen a light Young lions…
I Want this Cyclops Two French sisters on a DC-10 Sped from Dallas, just imagine…
In Dreams I cloak my dreams in the stuff of deceit With the…
In the Morning You wanted it to be good Yeah you thought that it…
Into the Ocean Listening to "Strawberry Wine" For the 131st time It was 198…
Introducing Angels Common scars brought us together. Common scars brought us t…
Islands in the Stream Listen deeply (DJ?): Beware and be sure when I tell you Yo…
It Just Doesn't Happen You're looking good In spite of the light And the air And th…
It's Gonna Take an Airplane It's gonna take an airplane To get me off the ground I…
Ivory Coast At night I sit and watch the world go by I'm…
J. Tailor "Wore my fringe like Roger McGuinn's" Quote, unquote. Litt…
Kaputt Wasting your days Chasing some girls Alright, chasing cocain…
La Regle du Jeu Tuesday, trees are weeping for the sky and it's obscene Marr…
Leave Little Fiddler The windows stay closed They've never known me I walk to the…
Leopard of Honor The leopard of honor speaks to a crowd of the…
Libby's First Sunrise Libby's first sunrise. You've been wasted from the day Of …
Looters' Follies You can huff and you can puff but you'll never…
Loves of a Gnostic Rip the badges from our breasts just like the others. Impen…
Mad Foxes Mad foxes Look I saw them all and I wanted all…
makin angels Ok, and for a start there was a craft sale of…
Makin' Angels Ok, and for a start, there was a craft sale of…
Maria de las nieves Sí, la fiesta terminó, ¿o ni siquiera comenzó? Habrá que v…
Melanie and Jennifer and Melanie Some things we simply must stand for. Power goes to the…
Mending Song Oh, the horror, woe to find How you changed your mind When…
Mercy "Mercy" Is the word we tore from the book of languages "Merc…
Midnight Meet the Rain You make a plea for me to come to my…
Modern Painters Modern painters can't decide why every time she smiles it's…
My Favorite Year You in white, and me in grey go well tonight. So…
New Ways of Living Maybe I should have loved you Maybe I should have sworn Not…
Night Moves First things first, we burst onto the scene Where the new…
No Cease Fires! "Think globally. Act Nobly. The ties that bind us blind us."…
Notorious Lightning Oh, notorious lightning Yes, I had to ride you And trash…
Painter in Your Pocket And I'm reminded Of the time that I was blinded By the…
Plaza Trinidad I was caught in the middle of a world war This…
Poor In Love I was poor in love I was poor in wealth I was…
Priest's Knees And I was just another West coast maximalist Exploring the b…
Queen of Languages Rock! We hung from a thread just to prove poetry undead. …
Ravers See the sun crawling over the sky. Keep an eye on…
Rereading the Marble Faun The lecture halls we filled in the Fall fell through. The…
Revolution The one hundredth beautiful crib death Just sold to you'll-…
Riots Your chair is there Your body is on the lam Until you…
Rivers See the sun crawling over the sky. Keep an eye on…
Rome You go out, it's no good You remain made of wood It's…
Rubies Dueling cyclones jackknife They got eyes for your wife and t…
Saddestroyer So you wanted to fuck a cop? Well hello, hey, don't…
Savage Night At The Opera Ba, da, dum, bum, bum, ba, da, da, da Ba, da,…
Saw You at the Hospital Saw you at the hospital Your mind was insane Your gown was…
School and the Girls Who Go There I am no longer who I am No longer It's all ad…
Self Portrait With Thing Honey, I know I know, you were born to give... And…
Shooting Rockets "Caution!––Hot ashes," the girl says to her first kiss. The…
Sick Priest Learns to Last Forever Make a mockery of the courts, receive your sentence, and…
Signs The bird is not the word. Quit being so cryptic with…
Sky's Grey Sky's grey Call for rain Everyday You cancel the parade Giv…
Smith Something quite unholy, heard from your mouth, As noted, so…
Solace's Bride Solace's bride's been having second thoughts She's had some …
Sometimes in the World I can't pay for this, all I've got is money And…
Son of the Earth So slowly goes the day of hounding you for more This…
Song For America I wrote a song for America They told me it…
Song For Mama This song for America They told me it was clever, Jessica…
State of the Union Once again, A wreck On the observation deck. Watching the…
Stay Lost Stay lost, never found Out on the street, in The Book…
Streethawk I Hey girl, come on and take a whirl in my…
Streethawk II There ought to be a law There ought to be a…
Streets of Fire Come on, come out of the rain You're not impressed, you're…
Strike Why do you work when you're sick of lifting When you're…
Students Carve Hearts Out of Coal Students carve hearts out of coal I just thought I'd let…
Sublimation Hour So you had the best legs in a business built…
Suicide Demo for Kara Walker Brown paper bag, don't stop me now, I'm on a…
The Bad Arts Absolve, absolve, absolve We spent the better part of the da…
The Chosen Few Shut up, you better stop it Put that thing back in…
The Crossover You come down from the mountain They lose your scent in…
The Fox & The Hound The fox and the hound Don't stand a chance In the land (In…
The Music Lovers Feeling fine, but it must be the wine 'Cause it's April…
The Night Moves First things first, we burst onto the scene Where the new…
The Pornographers I'm not sorry. I killed the baby. Only two years old, with…
The Relevant Ballads The Relevant Ballads are calling you "truant" and then "untr…
The River See the sun crawling over the sky Keep an eye on…
The Space Race Search you'll find no flies On a parable this size no…
The Spirit of Giving You went looking for shelter In all the wrong spaces You g…
The State Oh, The State cut off my arms and the state tore…
The Sublimation Hour So you had the best legs in a business built…
The Television Music Supervisor The television music supervisor said I can't believe what I'…
The Temple And though the solitudes have won I cannot begin to crave…
The Very Modern Dance Screwed on the chemical floors of the dance world Now you…
The Way of Perpetual Roads Watch the mistake in progress, Even if you don't believe in…
The+Very+Modern+Dance Screwed on the chemical floors of the Dance World, now…
Thief You take back the curse, but the world just gets…
This Night They led us on They said it would be yours Tear down…
Times Square Jesus is beside himself Jacob's in a state of decimation The…
Times Square Poison Season II Judy's beside herself Jack's in a state of desolation The wr…
Tinseltown Swimming in Blood Tinseltown swimming in blood Tinsel ribbons dancing in the r…
Tintoretto It's For You Do you remember the mythic beast? A last-minute cancellation…
To the Heart of the Sun on the Back of the Vulture I'll Go I memorized the moves of a great culture It gave way…
Trembling Peacock Relax, trembling peacock No, I wasn't born to rock Oh, I was…
Very Modern Dance Screwed on the chemical floors of the dance world Now you…
Virgin With a Memory Was it the movie or the making of Fitzcarraldo Where someone…
War on Jazz Money goes in the bank, spank, spank her. Kowtow(?), a Germ…
War on jazz II or How i learned to love the war on jazz Land-lovers refuse to understand that others Need the sea l…
Watercolours Listening to "Strawberry Wine" For the 131st time It was 198…
What Road Once I was made beautiful in the light of an…
Whistlin' Dixie Burned every bullet you earned The stench of "Stupid, you co…
Woman Up to a Point A dangerous woman up to a point once said "As per…
You Were So Cruel You were so cruel, and it was her house. You were…
Your Blood I went for you in military times and, then, I…
Your Blues Why does every one of her lovers leave her? I'm ill-equipped…