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.
Foam Hands
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are certain things you must do
To perceive his face In the stains on the wall
I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam hands
Since you've been gone
Since you've been gone
Me and the King have been steadily growing apart
He lives down the hall
I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam hands
I'm not the kind
To tell you what is true
And what is totally out of control
I didn't know what time it was at all
I didn't know what time it was at all
Foam hands
Foam hands
Foam hands
Foam hands
In Destroyer's song "Foam Hands," the lyrics display a sense of confusion and longing. The opening lines, "True love regrets to inform you / There are certain things you must do / To perceive his face in the stains on the wall," suggest that the singer is longing for their true love and is trying to find a way to see them, even if it means seeing them in the mundane things in life, such as stains on the wall.
The next verse reveals the singer's disorientation, as they state "I didn't know what time it was at all." This confusion seems to stem from the absence of their true love. The chorus, "Foam hands," is a peculiar phrase that adds to the overall feeling of confusion in the song. It is unclear what the phrase means, but it could possibly refer to the fleeting nature of love or the way in which love can slip through one's grasp.
The second verse moves into the singer's relationship with "the King." The phrase, "Since you've been gone / Me and the King have been steadily growing apart / He lives down the hall," suggests that the singer has lost touch with a former friend or acquaintance since their true love has been gone. Again, the confusion of the singer is emphasized with the repeated line "I didn't know what time it was at all" and the chorus, "Foam hands," which could imply that the singer feels as if they are adrift and unsure of their footing.
Line by Line Meaning
True love regrets to inform you
The feeling of true love wants to let you know
There are certain things you must do
There are specific actions required
To perceive his face In the stains on the wall
To observe his image in the marks on the wall
I didn't know what time it was at all
I was unaware of the time
Foam hands
Expression of confusion or uncertainty
Since you've been gone
After you left
Me and the King have been steadily growing apart
My relationship with the King has been declining over time
He lives down the hall
The King resides near me
I'm not the kind
I am not the type
To tell you what is true
To inform you of the truth
And what is totally out of control
And what is completely beyond management
Foam hands
Expression of confusion or uncertainty
Foam hands
Expression of confusion or uncertainty
Foam hands
Expression of confusion or uncertainty
Foam hands
Expression of confusion or uncertainty
Contributed by Austin C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.