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.
Song For America
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They told me it was clever
Jessica's gone on vacation
On the dark side of town forever
Who knew?
Who knew?
I wrote a song for America
Jessica's gone on vacation
On the dark side of town forever
Who knew?
Who knew?
I wrote a song for America
They told me it was clever
Jessica's gone on vacation
On the dark side of town forever
Who knew?
Who knew?
Who knew?
Who knew?
Winter, spring, summer and fall
Animals crawl towards death's embrace
Winter, spring, summer, fall, punks kick a ball
In a park, on a Sunday, strung out in the rain
Winter, spring, summer and fall
Animals crawl towards death's embrace
Winter, spring, summer, fall, punks kick a ball
In a park, on a Sunday, just wasted in the rain
Winter, spring, summer and fall
Animals crawl towards death's embrace
Winter, spring, summer, fall, punks kick a ball
In a park, on a Sunday, strung out in the rain
The lyrics of "Song For America" by Destroyer depict the disillusionment and uncertainty of the American Dream. The singer sings about writing a song for America that was deemed clever by some, but then reflects on the fate of Jessica, who is gone on vacation to the dark side of town forever. This line can represent a fallen dream or a life lost to crime and drugs. The repetition of "who knew?" at the end of each verse makes it clear that the singer, like many others, did not fully understand the true costs and consequences of pursuing the American Dream.
The chorus contrasts the theme of disillusionment with the cyclical nature of life and the indifference of nature towards human struggles. The passage of time is marked by the changing seasons, and yet, animals still crawl towards death's embrace. The second half of the chorus paints a picture of punks kicking a ball in the park, strung out in the rain, suggesting that even in leisure, there is no escape from the despair and decay of modern American life. The singer's song for America reflects the larger societal trend of disillusionment and uncertainty in the face of a faltering dream.
Line by Line Meaning
I wrote a song for America
The artist created a song that is dedicated to the United States
They told me it was clever
People gave positive feedback and recognition for the song's intelligence
Jessica's gone on vacation
Someone named Jessica is taking a break from the usual routine
On the dark side of town forever
Jessica went to a part of town that is considered unsafe or undesirable
Who knew?
An expression of surprise or confusion about Jessica's decision to go to a dangerous part of town
Winter, spring, summer and fall
Referring to the seasons of the year in order
Animals crawl towards death's embrace
A metaphor for the progression of life, leading to an inevitable end
Winter, spring, summer, fall, punks kick a ball
Contrasting the bleakness of the previous line with a more lighthearted scene of punks playing soccer
In a park, on a Sunday, strung out in the rain
Describing a damp and dreary day in the park, where people are possibly under the influence of drugs
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Daniel Bejar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rodfer
Eu escrevi uma música para a América
Eles me disseram que era inteligente
Jessica saiu de férias
No lado escuro da cidade para sempre
Quem sabia? Quem sabia?
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao braços da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Fugindo na chuva
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao braços da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Apenas perdendo tempo na chuva
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao abraço da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Fugindo na chuva
D L
kaputt hits hard in 2020.
Bernard
One of the best albums from the previous decade. Best decade of my life...so far.
P Pell
God this song got under my skin. I hated it so much when I first heard it but found myself singing it now and again. Now I can't get enough of it. So great to go driving at night listening to it.
Daniyar K
Why would you hate it? I mean, you could not be impressed, but to hate.. eiteher way, we love it both now, because it is fabulous.
RC
What a cool song. Haven't heard this in like a decade.
Rodfer
Eu escrevi uma música para a América
Eles me disseram que era inteligente
Jessica saiu de férias
No lado escuro da cidade para sempre
Quem sabia? Quem sabia?
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao braços da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Fugindo na chuva
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao braços da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Apenas perdendo tempo na chuva
Inverno, primavera, verão e outono
Animais rastejam em direção ao abraço da morte
Inverno Primavera Verão outono
Punks chutam uma bola
Em um parque em um domingo
Fugindo na chuva
Robert Smith
😍
Roselyne Montmeat
Sounds so good as the whole album!
Isaiah Sanchez
guys when I found this album I was like what the heck then I feel in love
Klaus Trophobia
Try some Roxy Music or some of Bryan Ferry’s solo stuff