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.
Strike
Destroyer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you're sick of lifting?
The festivities left you on the shelf
Why are you always trying to please everybody but yourself
That which bears witness to it's own failure
Are you so sure?
Why do you work for the festival
Spirits, spirits to the sky
"Body" and "soul"
Two words for that same nameless thing you have never known
Why do you work
In place of bearing witness to your own inclusion
Inclusion
Inclusion
And strike
And strike
Strike
In the song "Strike" by Destroyer, the lyrics paint a scene of exhaustion and questioning the purpose of one's work. The singer asks why someone would continue to work when they are tired of lifting and pleasing others, especially in the context of a "festival" where the spirits are meant to be lifted. It seems that the singer is pointing out the futility of this kind of work, especially when one is neglecting their own needs and desires.
The line "That which bears witness to its own failure, are you so sure?" raises a further question about the worth of this kind of work. Is it really worth it if it can only witness its own failure? The lyrics suggest that the answer is no. The repetition of "strike" at the end of the song could be interpreted as a call to action, a call to strike against this kind of work and instead, bear witness to one's own inclusion and needs.
Overall, the lyrics of "Strike" by Destroyer offer a poignant critique of meaningless work that can only witness its own failure. The song invites the listener to consider their own relationship to work and to question whether it is truly fulfilling.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do you work when you're sick of lifting
Why do you persist in a job that exhausts you?
When you're sick of lifting?
When it’s obvious that you no longer find fulfillment in it?
The festivities left you on the shelf
You were excluded from the fun and excitement of the celebration.
Why are you always trying to please everybody but yourself
Why do you prioritize others' happiness over your own?
That which bears witness to it's own failure
Something that is self-destructive and witnesses its own downfall.
Are you so sure?
Are you confident in your decision to continue with something that doesn't serve you?
Why do you work for the festival
Why do you put effort into something that doesn't fulfill you like lifting spirits?
When you're sick of lifting spirits
When you're tired of being in the business of making people happy.
Spirits, spirits to the sky
Trying to elevate the mood and energy by lifting spirits up high.
"Body" and "soul"
Physical and spiritual parts of oneself.
Two words for that same nameless thing you have never known
Two words used to describe a nameless concept that remains unknown to you.
Why do you work
What motivates you to keep working despite being miserable?
In place of bearing witness to your own inclusion
Why don't you focus more on yourself and make sure you're included in your own life?
Inclusion
The idea of being fully present and involved in your own life.
And strike
Take action and make a change in your life.
And strike
Do something drastic to break free from the cycle you're in.
Strike
Take control of your life and make a bold move for your own happiness.
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Daniel Bejar, Jason Zumpano, John Edward Collins, Scott Morgan, Stephen Michael Wood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind