Album of the Week: Destroyer

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Album of the Week: Destroyer

Plus Stream the New Albums from TORRES, Frances Quinlan, Dan Deacon, Drive-By Truckers, POLIÇA, and More

Jan 31, 2020 By Christopher Roberts Photography by Ted Bois POLIÇA

Destroyer (the project of Dan Bejar) has released a new album, Have We Met, today via Merge and it’s our Album of the Week. Find more info on the album below. Below that are streams of other notable albums and EPs released today: TORRES, Frances Quinlan, Wild Nothing, Dan Deacon, Drive-By Truckers, POLIÇA, and Squirrel Flower.

Destroyer: Have We Met (Merge)

Have We Met is the follow-up to 2017’s ken, which was one of our Top 100 Albums of 2017. The Vancouver-based musician and family man recorded the vocals in his home while trying not to disturb his family. He then sent those basic tracks to producer John Collins, giving him much creative freedom to augment them.

Today we posted our review of Have We Met written by Conrad Duncan and you can read that here. Here’s an excerpt from his review:

“Yet, even after more than 20 years of recordings, Bejar remains a delightfully unpredictable and inscrutable writer. From Have We Met‘s opening lines, he is on striking form, as his narrator describes himself as ‘like the laziest river, a vulture predisposed to eating off floors.’ Then, in the first of a number of left-turns through this album, he changes his mind. ‘No wait, I take that back/I was more like an ocean stuck inside hospital corridors.’ Later, on in ‘The Raven’-a wistful number filled with oddly beautiful turns of phrase-he tells a companion: ‘I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay, here in the City of the Dying Embers.’ There are also times when he wanders close to self-parody-see the ‘clickety click click’ on ‘The Television Music Supervisor’-but for the most part, Bejar has mastered his brand of surreal lyricism. He was right when he said recently that he has never sounded more comfortable.

“Musically too, Destroyer haven’t sounded this dynamic and versatile in nearly a decade. On ‘Kinda Dark,’ Bejar’s references to serial killers are punctuated by clattering drums and an unsettling razor-sharp guitar solo, while the soft bed of synths and MIDI horns on ‘foolssong’ guides one of Destroyer’s most moving album closers to date.”

Previously Destroyer shared Have We Met‘s first single, “Crimson Tide,” via a video for the track. It was #2 on our Songs of the Week list. Then Bejar shared another song from the album, “It Just Doesn’t Happen,” via a sparse visual for the track featuring dimly lit images of a snowmobile at night. “It Just Doesn’t Happen” also made our Songs of the Week list. Then Bejar shared a third single from the album, “Cue Synthesizer,” via a video for the track (which was #1 on that week’s Songs of the Week list).

Read our interview with Destroyer on ken.

Destroyer Tour Dates:

U.S. Tour Dates:
Feb 21 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater*
Feb 22 San Francisco, CA - August Hall*
Feb 23 Los Angeles, CA - Regent Theater*
Feb 24 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress*
Feb 26 Austin, TX - The Mohawk*
Feb 27 Dallas, TX - Club Dada*
Feb 28 Lawrence, KS - Granada Theater*
Feb 29 St. Paul, MN - Turf Club*
Mar 01 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall*
Mar 02 Detroit, MI - Deluxx Fluxx*
Mar 04 Toronto, ON - Opera House**
Mar 05 Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount**
Mar 06 Boston, MA - The Sinclair**
Mar 07 New York, NY - Brooklyn Steel**
Mar 08 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts**
Mar 09 Washington, DC - Black Cat**
Mar 11 Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle**
Mar 12 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West**
Mar 13 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge**
Mar 14 St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill**
Mar 15 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room**
Mar 16 Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater**
Mar 17 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge**
Mar 19 Seattle, WA - Neumos**
Mar 20 Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre**

*w/Eleanor Freidbeger
** w/Nap Eyes

European Tour Dates:

17-Apr - Motel Mozaïque Festival, Rotterdam (NL)
18-Apr - Little Waves Festival, Genk (B)
19-Apr - Plaza, Zurich (CH)
20-Apr - Ohibo, Milano (IT)
21-Apr - Z-bau, Nürnberg (GER)
22-Apr - The Archa Theatre, Prague (CZ)
24-Apr - Bi Nuu, Berlin (GER)
25-Apr - Ut Connewitz, Leipzig (GER)
26-Apr - Pumpehuset, Copenhagen (DK)
27-Apr - Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm (SWE)
28-Apr - Blå, Oslo (NOR)
29-Apr - Meijerit, Lund (SWE)
30-Apr - Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
02-May - Manufaktur, Schorndorf (GER)
03-May - Trix, Antwerp (B)
04-May - Cafe De La Danse, Paris (FR)
05-May - Village Underground, London (UK)
06-May - Drygate, Glasgow (UK)
07-May - Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (UK)