Despite releasing his material on the über-indie Merge and being a sometime New Pornographer (as well as the author of some of that band’s best material), Dan Bejar’s main project Destroyer has remained only a blip on all but the most advanced of musical radars. Everything that might cause a listener to revile Destroyer is featured prominently on Destroyer’s Rubies: from dense, occasionally focus-free arrangements, to obtuse lyrical references, to Bejar’s nasal croon, a sort of Bowie-esque carnival-barker delivery. But in embracing his most eccentric tendencies, Bejar has finally delivered his definitive Destroyer epic. Rubies opens with a nine-minute title track, a multi-part jam that floats between renaissance-fair picking and exhilarating rock riffs. No matter what odd form the wordplay takes, it’s clear that the lyrics are about something. Which is exactly why it’s so easy to find yourself singing along to songs that include absurdities like “20th century masters welcome these disasters/and so do I.”
On the Web
Destroyer: http://www.mergerecords.com/band.php?band_id=29
