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.
In The Morning
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah you thought that it would be ok
A death star in bloom
Another thought in the incinerator
You wanted it to be cool
Oh you thought that it would be alright
In the morning...
A rattle in the hand of a baby
A rattle in the hand of my baby
Goes the rhythm of the night
Yeah you wanted it to be cool
You thought that it would be alright
In the morning...
Hey you, come here
Bands sing their songs and then disappear
Bands sing their songs and then disappear into the rhythm of the night
Yeah you wanted it to be cool
You thought that it would be alright
In the morning
In the morning
In the morning
The lyrics of Destroyer's song "In the Morning" convey a sense of anticipation and disappointment. The opening lines, "You wanted it to be good, Yeah you thought that it would be ok," speak to the hopes and expectations that were initially placed on a certain situation or experience. The reference to a "death star in bloom" can be interpreted as a metaphor for something that was expected to be grand and powerful, but ultimately falls short. It symbolizes the fading of an idealized vision.
The line "A rattle in the hand of a baby" further emphasizes the theme of disappointment and fragility. A rattle, often associated with happiness and joy, becomes a symbol of dissatisfaction and unfulfilled expectations. The repetition of these lines, particularly "You wanted it to be cool, You thought that it would be alright," underscores the singer's disappointment and realization that things did not turn out as expected.
Later, the lyrics shift to address someone directly, perhaps someone who was involved or responsible for the initial disappointment. The lines "Hey you, come here, Bands sing their songs and then disappear" reflect on the transient nature of success and fame. The rhythm of the night is referred to as the place where bands, including the singer's, sing their songs and eventually fade away. This adds a layer of resignation and acceptance to the lyrics, suggesting that disappointment and transience are an inherent part of life.
Overall, "In the Morning" captures the cycle of hope, disappointment, and acceptance, while exploring themes of unfulfilled expectations and the transitory nature of success.
Line by Line Meaning
You wanted it to be good
You had high expectations and hoped for a positive outcome
Yeah you thought that it would be ok
You believed that everything would turn out fine
A death star in bloom
Something powerful and destructive emerging or unfolding
Another thought in the incinerator
Another idea or thought being discarded or destroyed
You wanted it to be cool
You desired for it to be impressive or impressive
Oh you thought that it would be alright
Oh, you had the notion that it would be satisfactory
In the morning...
Hoping for a positive outcome when the new day starts
A rattle in the hand of a baby
A noisy toy held by an infant
A rattle in the hand of my baby
The sound produced by a toy held by my child
Goes the rhythm of the night
The beat or tempo of the nighttime
Hey you, come here
Hey, you, come closer
Bands sing their songs and then disappear
Musical groups perform their songs and then vanish
Bands sing their songs and then disappear into the rhythm of the night
Musical groups perform their songs and fade away amidst the nighttime atmosphere
In the morning
Hoping for a positive outcome when the new day starts
In the morning
Hoping for a positive outcome when the new day starts
In the morning
Hoping for a positive outcome when the new day starts
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Daniel Bejar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind