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.
Dark Leaves Form A Thread
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
sipping sherry branded by moonlight's just a game people are playing tonight.
Seriously, terror advances...so
Sorry if you should find me
thinking of only the things that I need.
I've been living in America in churches of greed––it's sick!
No, it's cool.
You go. I'll stay,
perfectly at home with this dread.
Dark leaves form a thread!
So,
should you still want me
you can find me down at the café,
a little bit too busy being served.
Sworn enemy of the waitresses there,
a late September sunlight travels through her hair––it wants to be seen...
Nah, it's cool.
You go. I'll stay,
perfectly at home with this dread.
Dark leaves form a thread!
In Destroyer's song "Dark Leaves Form A Thread," the lyrics tell the story of a person who is struggling with their own desires and needs while living in a society that is consumed by greed. The first line, "Susan, the truth is, sipping sherry branded by moonlight's just a game people are playing tonight," suggests that people are pretending to lead a glamorous life, but in reality, they are just playing a game. The following lines, "Seriously, terror advances...so sorry if you should find me thinking of only the things that I need. I've been living in America in churches of greed––it's sick!" indicate that the singer is aware of the problems in American society, but they feel trapped in it and can only think of their own survival.
The central theme of the song is emphasized in the chorus, "Dark leaves form a thread!" Here, the singer is acknowledging the negative aspects of society, but they are also comfortable with it. They have found a sense of home in the darkness and are content to stay there.
Later in the song, the singer describes a place where they can be found if the listener still wants them. The café symbolizes a place of comfort and familiarity, but the singer acknowledges that they are seen as a "sworn enemy" of the waitresses there. The final line, "Late September sunlight travels through her hair––it wants to be seen," suggests that there is beauty in the darkness, but it is often overlooked or ignored.
Overall, "Dark Leaves Form A Thread" is a commentary on the negative aspects of American society and how people can find comfort in the darkness.
Line by Line Meaning
Susan, the truth is, sipping sherry branded by moonlight's just a game people are playing tonight.
The singer addresses someone named Susan and states that the act of drinking sherry labeled as if it was made under moonlight is just a meaningless game people are engaging in at present.
Seriously, terror advances...so
The singer acknowledges that scary events are currently happening and implies that there is a connection to the triviality of the game.
Sorry if you should find me thinking of only the things that I need. I've been living in America in churches of greed––it's sick!
The singer apologizes for being selfish and admits to living in the US, which they describe as a sick place obsessed with wealth and consumption.
No, it's cool. You go. I'll stay, perfectly at home with this dread. Dark leaves form a thread!
The artist reassures someone that they are fine being left alone with their feelings of fear and despair, which are represented by a thread made of dark leaves.
So, should you still want me you can find me down at the café, a little bit too busy being served. Sworn enemy of the waitresses there, a late September sunlight travels through her hair––it wants to be seen...
The artist tells someone where to find them if they are still interested, but portrays themselves as rude to waitresses and notes the beauty of sunlight shining through a woman's hair, perhaps as a symbol of fleeting happiness.
Nah, it's cool. You go. I'll stay, perfectly at home with this dread. Dark leaves form a thread!
The singer repeats their earlier sentiment that they are okay being alone with their feelings of despair, visualized as a thread made of dark leaves.
Contributed by Charlotte B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.