Destroyer May 23, 2008

2006 marked the return of Vancouver’s Dan Bejar with his seventh full-length release under the moniker Destroyer. If there has been any precedent set or pattern developed over the previous six recordings in the Destroyer canon, it’s that Bejar holds little regard for convention or expectations. Never one to rest on laurels, each successive Destroyer release always explores new sonic territories and ideas. We love Dan for that. The album is titled Destroyer’s Rubies and the opening track, “Rubies,” sets the tone well. It’s 9 and 1/2 minutes long, a sprawling epic that opens with the phrase: “Cast myself towards infinity, trust me, I had my reasons" the perfect summation of the Destroyer aesthetic. Destroyer’s Rubies is a collection of shrewd pop music that takes no prisoners and asks no pardons. Equal parts cynicism, disdain, hope and humor; self-referential, self-mocking, sagacious and coy. There is mythology here, there is history, there is heartbreak and there is triumph. Follow along as Bejar leaves his breadcrumb trail twisting through the crumbling forests and bleak landscapes of modern popular music. It’s all heady and ecstatic. Trust him, he has his reasons.

Official Website: http://www.aladdin-theater.com/upcoming_shows.aspx