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.
Leopard of Honor
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Suspiciously formed of the fast ones, you must always leave them wanting, he said
So we went down to the store
I saw you at the store
Now, in this regards, where do I start to keep us free - keep us apart?
I wanted to speak up, but it was not my place
Just some little shit in love with your eyes - a brute adrift in space
Pirouettes across the sky's faces where you'll find me
Asleep for days
A stranger to the sun's brutal gaze, ah yeah
Mother Superior's the only one who calls
She says, "Hey, when are you ever coming over?"
Remove that wretched writing from the wall
It's just more pictures again.
Jenny fell like a ton of bricks
Jenny fell like a ton of bricks
These are characterized as special times, and these are special times -- oh
Jenny fell like a ton of bricks
She travels in and out of you like some shade whistlin' Dixie
I didn't know why, I guess I was high
Sick mansions freckle the skies, saying, "For Christ's sakes, inhabit me"
I was dead on my feet
Asleep for days
A stranger to the sun's brutal ways, ah yeah
Mother Superior's the only one who calls
She says, "Baby, when are you ever coming over?"
Enjoy the wretched writing on the wall
Enjoy!
Will the leopard of honor speak? Will the leopard of honor speak?
Please stand, open your mouth, put out your hand and say
"I saw you standing there singing for money"
Going dum da da dum
The lyrics of "Leopard of Honor" by Destroyer are full of complexity and symbolism. The leopard represents power and authority, perhaps a tyrannical figure who demands attention and loyalty from those around him. The reference to the crowd of the dead implies that the leopard is speaking to those who are no longer alive, suggesting that this is a voice from beyond the grave, a voice of experience and wisdom.
The line "Suspiciously formed of the fast ones, you must always leave them wanting, he said" indicates that this leopard is not just powerful, but cunning and manipulative. He knows how to use his power to maintain control over others. The tone is one of intrigue and skepticism, as the singer is wary of this voice and what it represents.
The lyrics then move to a scene at a store, where the singer sees someone they are attracted to but is unable to speak up due to fear or social limitations. The line "Just some little shit in love with your eyes - a brute adrift in space" captures the feeling of being helpless in the face of a powerful attraction. Later, the lyrics return to the theme of death, with the singer feeling disconnected from the world around them and only able to relate to the dead. The repeated line "Mother Superior's the only one who calls" suggests a feeling of isolation and loneliness, as the singer has no one else to connect with.
Overall, "Leopard of Honor" is a haunting, enigmatic song that explores themes of power, attraction, and death. The lyrics are full of vivid imagery and symbolic language, creating a sense of mystery and intrigue for the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
The leopard of honor speaks to a crowd of the dead, shouting out for more
The influential figure known as the leopard of honor addresses a lifeless audience, passionately proclaiming a desire for further stimulation.
Suspiciously formed of the fast ones, you must always leave them wanting, he said
The entity in question is composed of individuals who value speed and opportunism, and its leader advises that it is critical to never provide too much too soon.
So we went down to the store
We proceeded on our way towards a commercial establishment.
I saw you at the store
I witnessed your presence within said store.
Now, in this regards, where do I start to keep us free - keep us apart?
In this particular matter, I am unsure of where to initiate action to preserve our autonomy and disconnection.
I wanted to speak up, but it was not my place
I felt a desire to express myself, but intrinsically understood that it was not my position to do so.
Just some little shit in love with your eyes - a brute adrift in space
I am merely an insignificant individual enamored by your visual presence, a morally depraved person aimlessly wandering throughout the cosmos.
Pirouettes across the sky's faces where you'll find me
I engage in gyrating movements through the countenance of the heavens, that is where my location may be ascertained.
I was dead on my feet
I was moribund, my vitality absent.
Asleep for days
I was rendered unconscious for an extended period.
A stranger to the sun's brutal gaze, ah yeah
I was not habituated to the unforgiving glare of the sun, indeed.
Mother Superior's the only one who calls
The solely individual who contacts me is Mother Superior.
She says, "Hey, when are you ever coming over?"
She inquires, "Greetings, when shall you be visiting?"
Remove that wretched writing from the wall
Eradicate that appalling written content from the structure's surface.
It's just more pictures again.
It is nothing more than additional images, as before.
Jenny fell like a ton of bricks
Jenny collapsed with significant force.
She travels in and out of you like some shade whistlin' Dixie
She fluctuates within and outside of your being comparable to a spectral form, whistling a southern American tune.
I didn't know why, I guess I was high
I was ignorant of the reason, one would suppose it to be an effect of narcotics.
Sick mansions freckle the skies, saying, "For Christ's sakes, inhabit me"
Unwell large homes stipple the heavens, exclaiming "For the love of Jesus, take up residence within my structure."
Mother Superior's the only one who calls
The solely individual who contacts me is Mother Superior.
She says, "Baby, when are you ever coming over?"
She inquires, "Darling, on what occasion do you plan on visiting?"
Enjoy the wretched writing on the wall
Revel in the deplorable written content on the surface.
Will the leopard of honor speak? Will the leopard of honor speak?
Shall the leopard of honor deliver a speech? Shall the leopard of honor deliver a speech?
Please stand, open your mouth, put out your hand and say
Kindly arise, part your lips, project your palm forward, and vocalize.
"I saw you standing there singing for money"
I witnessed your stance as you were engaging in mnemonic vocalizations for monetary gain.
Going dum da da dum
Uttering nonsensical onomatopoeic sounds.
Contributed by Hannah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.