Destroyer (band)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Destroyer
Origin Vancouver, BC
Canada Flag of Canada
Genre(s) Chamber pop
Indie pop
Years active 1995–Present
Label(s) Tinker
Granted Passage Cassettes
Merge
Associated acts The New Pornographers
Swan Lake
Hello, Blue Roses
Bonaparte
Members
Dan Bejar

Destroyer is a Canadian indie rock band that is fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar.

Contents

[edit] Overview

Daniel Bejar (pronounced /ˈbeɪhɑr/) is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver who created Destroyer in 1995. Self-producing his first album, the lo-fi We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge was recorded at his in home studio in Vancouver. As Bejar gained popularity in the Vancouver music scene, he was joined by John Collins on City of Daughters after which he managed to put together a band. In 2000 the band broke up and Bejar took an extended vacation in Spain.

Following his brief break from Destroyer, he returned to Vancouver to release Thief in 2000. Interpreted by many critics as an indictment of the music industry, this album brought Destroyer significant recognition. [1]

Following Thief's release, Bejar put more focus into his music, beginning his music contributions to The New Pornographers. After the 2001 release of Streethawk: A Seduction on Misra Records, Destroyer picked up something of a cult following. Having the band Frog Eyes play back-up for several shows inspired Notorious Lightning & Other Works, a reworking of six tracks from the previous album Your Blues with Frog Eyes once again as back-up.

[edit] Style

Bejar calls Destroyer's style "European Blues". It is often compared to David Bowie; the band's admitted influences are Pavement, and Guided by Voices, as well as other indie and shoegaze bands. Bejar's lyric stylings are also noteworthy for their cryptic poetry, which frequently vex and intrigue listeners. Bejar openly borrows phrases from other artists and a variety of other sources (and others' songs), even political rhetoric (ex: Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire"). Your Blues presented a new direction in Destroyer's style by introducing orchestral elements as well as a heavy reliance on midi instruments.[2]

[edit] Musical collaborators

Over the ten-plus years that Bejar has been performing and recording as Destroyer, there have been numerous lineup changes and shifts within the artists he plays with. This ever-evolving shuffle of musicians has led some to consider Destroyer as a solo project, but Bejar has always insisted that he sees Destroyer as a band, with full contributions from his collaborators. Bejar has said in interviews that he’s just never been especially good at the logistics of keeping a band together. [3]

Bejar has said that the current musician line-up from the recording sessions for Destroyer's Rubies shall be the definitive and permanent line up for the band from this point forward. Many members here have performed with Bejar in one form or another before, some on previous Destroyer albums, many of whom have the commonality of being from the production team of JC/DC (John Collins and Dave Carswell).

[edit] Discography

Year Title Label
1996 We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge Tinker
1997 Ideas for Songs Granted Passage Cassettes
1998 City of Daughters Endearing/Triple Crown Audio
2000 Thief Catsup Plate/Triple Crown Audio/Cave Canem
2001 Streethawk: A Seduction Misra/Talitres
2002 This Night Merge/Talitres
2004 Your Blues Merge/Talitres/Acuarela
2005 Notorious Lightning & Other Works (EP) Merge
2006 Destroyer's Rubies Merge
2008 Trouble in Dreams Merge/Rough Trade

[edit] References

  1. ^ Destroyer's Artist page on Merge Records
  2. ^ Destroyer's Artist page on Merge Records
  3. ^ Sixeyes Interview

[edit] External links