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.
Kaputt
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chasing some girls
Alright, chasing cocaine
Through the backrooms of the world
All night
Wasting your days
Chasing some girls
Through the backrooms of the world
All night
Sounds, smash hits
Melody maker, NME
All sound like a dream to me
All sound like a dream to me
All sounds like a dream
Sounds, smash hits
Melody maker, NME
All sound like a dream to me
All sound like a dream to me
All sounds like a dream
Step out of your toga
And into the fog
You are a prince on the ocean
In a pinch
In the sky
In your eye
Step out of your toga
And into the ocean
Look, they got your prince
On the fall
In a pinch
In the sky
In your eye
In the sky
In your eye
In a pinch
In the sky
In your eye
I wrote a song for America
Who knew?
I wrote a song for America
Who knew?
Who knew?
Destroyer's song "Kaputt" is a contemplative piece that seems to be reflecting on hedonistic, careless and self-destructive behaviour. The opening lyrics "Wasting your days chasing some girls, alright, chasing cocaine through the backrooms of the world all night" suggest a lost or purposeless existence, one where the pursuit of pleasure trumps all else. The repetition of this verse emphasizes the sense of a life stuck in a perpetual cycle of chasing experiences that ultimately lead nowhere.
The chorus of "Sounds, smash hits, melody maker, NME; all sound like a dream to me" adds to this dreamlike and disconnected feel. These are all reputable music publications that would suggest an aspiration to be part of the industry, however, they remain distant and unattainable to the singer. This disconnect could be a metaphor for feeling lost and isolated from the rest of the world or the music industry.
The verse "Step out of your toga and into the fog, you are a prince on the ocean" creates an illusion of grandeur, but then quickly dashes that dream. The following line about the prince being “in a pinch, in the sky, in your eye” finishes the thought, but underscores the fragility of this experience. Similarly, the last lines, “I wrote a song for America, who knew,” could suggest a missed opportunity or waste of potential. Overall, "Kaputt" is a somber observation of a life lived without a clear direction.
Line by Line Meaning
Wasting your days
You're not using your time wisely
Chasing some girls
You're chasing after girls
Alright, chasing cocaine
You're also pursuing cocaine
Through the backrooms of the world
You're doing this in secret, in hidden places around the world
All night
You're doing all of this for extended periods
Sounds, smash hits
You're hearing popular music
Melody maker, NME
These are music-related magazines
All sound like a dream to me
It all sounds too good to be true
Step out of your toga
You need to leave behind the past and the façade you've created
And into the fog
You're entering a confusing, uncertain time
You are a prince on the ocean
You feel like royalty but you're lost and adrift
In a pinch
You're in a difficult or stressful situation
In the sky
You're reaching for something unattainable
In your eye
You have a specific vision or hope that's guiding you
I wrote a song for America
You created something and dedicated it to the country
Who knew?
It was unexpected or surprising
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Daniel Bejar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
damPHD
Wasting your days
Chasing some girl's alright.
Chasing cocaine
Through the backrooms of the world all night.
Wasting your days
Chasing some girl's alright.
Chasing cocaine
Through the backrooms of the world all night.
Sounds, Smash Hits, Melody Maker, NME,
All sound like a dream to me.
All sound like a dream to me.
All sounds like a dream...
Sounds, Smash Hits, Melody Maker, NME,
All sound like a dream to me.
All sound like a dream to me.
All sounds like a dream...
Step out of your toga and into the fog,
You are a prince on the ocean...
(In a pinch, in the sky, in your eye)
Step out of your toga into the ocean,
Look they got your prints on the fog...
(In a pinch, in the sky, in your eye)
Bracosaur
Destroyer, how are they so underground even after releasing so many distinctly amazing albums? Give five different people the same Destroyer song, and you'll get five completely different interpretations. That's the beauty of genuine music.
MuffBluffer
He*
Joe Zimmer
HAPPY 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY KAPUTT THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING
FrankPerezC
Eso lo explica todo! Wow 10 años han pasado claro yo estaba en Rio de Janeiro hace 10 años cuando escuché por primera vez este tema! Excelente!!!!
bramo
Haha curious on the story behind the "thank you"
Hero 96
👀
Patrick Roberson
IMO, this is one of the greatest music videos of all time. We're all trapped in our own ways, animals and man alike. We all have different realizations when we get to the places where we ultimately succeed or fail. Desert man gets his water but dies from it. Computer Kid sees the light of the sun his mother tried to force on him and realizes he needs to live. Poor Whale wanted to get out of his natural setting but will be just fine where he belongs. This is some powerful shit and I'd love to hear from the director. I can't imagine what Destroyer and Merge thought when they first saw this turned in.
shingothesecond
This is an amazing song, and the album is even better. I don't t think I will ever stop listening to it. Probably one of the few albums that I can play from start to finish and enjoy every single song. Dan Bejar is a master.
guarrana
I remember when this album came out. It was fantastic, but went under the radar. I think it was a little ahead of its time. If it were to be released now I think it would be much more noticed
LucidDream
Same. I loved this album personally. I think I caught on to it as soon as Anthony Fantano did a review of it. Boy, I'm glad I bought it.