Destroyer - Kaputt (2011)

and this is the first Destroyer album I've listened to a million times.

^^^^^^

AOTY for me, too. That smeared trumpet blare is my favorite sound of 2011.

Everything I found at best arch and at worst loathsome in Bejar's voice finds its musical correlative here.

Interesting! I've come to selfishly expect certain things in a Destroyer record, maybe I should re-approach Kaputt with less neediness.

(Not saying I don't love it already, of course)

first album ive heard by the guy tbh

First I'd heard by him, too; really like it, enough to have picked up Rubies (awesome guitar playing, great songs) and Your Blues (only arrived today; not listened yet) too.

Streethawk is probably the most underrated Destroyer album.

that's weird, that one is usually acknowledged as his best

your blues is incredible, though. my second-favorite destroyer record. its his closest to the sound of kaputt while also being something very different.

I feel like there are now like two eras of Destroyer fans, those who were around to fall in love with Streethawk back when it came out and, in much larger numbers, those who only came aboard after the massive Rubies acclaim and the New Pornos exposure. I'm guessing Streethawk is considered the best by the former group and underrated by the latter.

if i were to pick a consistently unacknowledged destroyer record it'd be thief which i consider marginally better than streethawk

i think "kaputt" might be bringing in a new era of destroyer fans, especially per all the people who just said on this thread that they hadn't heard any of his older stuff.

Okay, well, sure, but I'd argue that the biggest jump in number of fans came post New Pornos and Rubies exposure.

maybe. regardless, a lot of people might be into kaputt because it has a very distinct sound, and they would likely be disappointed by the lack of that sound on previous albums

i always liked rubies but i have trouble listening to the other stuff. not because it's objectively bad by any means, but because i find his voice cringeworthy in certain contexts and i p much never want to listen to bowie-inspired indie musics from the 2000s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C07kT3N5H14

If you want to talk underrated Destroyer records, it's a toss-up between Thief and City of Daughters, the latter of which I'd esp. recommend to anyone who doesn't like the Bejar snarl, his vocal performance on it is subdued, the lyrics are appealing in how formative they sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WabZuP0FNQs

Listened to this on the way into work this morning and thought it was kinda terrible tbh. God help us if there's a war etc etc.

I suppose it's less an issue of the voice with me and more that I found the combination of the production and the songwriting really cloying, but then again this is a problem I have with a lot of North American indie.

All this debating over contingents of Destroyer fans has overlooked me and people like me: people who knew about him pre New Pornographers and didn't really like him, didn't really like him in the New Pornographers, didn't really like him live, and generally haven't liked a Destroyer album til this one. Which means he now faces a creative challenge: if you release a breakthrough album, does your follow up once again go a different direction and likely alienate the fans you broke through to or just offer more of the same, but even more of it? I'm not sure where this guy will go with this. On one hand, he has been known to lose interest and wander a la Oldham. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure he enjoys being popular. But maybe not.

I'm in your camp, Josh, and the only answer I can offer is: who knows?

pretty sure he's not gonna wring his hands about that.

All this debating over contingents of Destroyer fans has overlooked me and people like me: people who knew about him pre New Pornographers and didn't really like him, didn't really like him in the New Pornographers, didn't really like him live, and generally haven't liked a Destroyer album til this one.

^Me^

In fact this seems one of the biggest contingents for this album. I just think his lyrical approach and voice suits the music/production so perfectly you can't ignore even if your previous knee-jerk was "fuck this guy." I dunno, it's a singular album from him I think...don't think he will repeat it, as is his artistic wont.

We shall see. I didn't think M83 dude would be all, for my next album, I will make things even bigger and longer and more '80s and cheesier!! Curious what the Phoenix guys are going to do for their big breakthrough follow-up, too.

@ Matt DC, too bad, I'm disappointed. I love it. It is a record from 1998 (!) though, before everybody's ears got tired of indie rock.

@ everyone else, I understand that Dan's music isn't for everybody, or even half of everybody, and this 'tempered' version of him has appeal to those who didn't like him previously. And I think I'd be on your side of the argument if David Berman suddenly released some slick record.

And I think I'd be on your side of the argument if David Berman suddenly released some slick record.

This is pretty on point comparison.

@ Matt DC, too bad, I'm disappointed. I love it. It is a record from 1998 (!) though, before everybody's ears got tired of indie rock.

I thought Matt meant Kaputt?

Ah, so, that makes more sense.

does your follow up once again go a different direction and likely alienate the fans you broke through to

I'm sure it will

also the bar is pretty low for "breakthrough album" if Kaputt is one

some people like it ... maybe a few more people than past Destroyer records ... which had a pretty minimal fanbase

I mean I love the dude but

yeah the hugeness of this album is being a little overstated

one of the most interesting things about bejar is his desire to switch things up on almost every album, I mean he could've gotten years out of making rubies over and over again

seemed like trouble in dreams was the first real "holding pattern" album he made -- same group of musicians as rubies, same overall vibe?

ha I totally forgot about that record

i kind of forget about it too! though it had some good things on it. it did just feel like a lesser rubies overall.

i'm predicting a reggae inflected follow up to kaputt.

I think a big breakthrough on Kaputt is the 'less is more' approach to lyrics. Bejar's tended towards the verbose, but on this album he's elliptical, suggestive, laconic. I think it suits him well, so I hope he keeps that aspect of it, whichever direction he goes with the music.

there is not a single destroyer song on any of his albums is that is not elliptical, suggestive and laconic

I'll grant you elliptical and suggestive but laconic?

imo

I'll go with less verbose tho "suicide demo" and "bay of pigs" are pretty sprawling

it's kinda like he went from being ck williams to being frank o'hara

there's a sloppiness in his earlier works that got beaten out of kaputt, his style is more offhanded and poised than drunkenly overwhelming

yeah bejar is laconic except when he isn't - he slips into stream-of-consciousness pretty effortlessly at times

i'm predicting a reggae inflected follow up to kaputt.

that would be p dope

http://www.rfimusique.com/musiqueen/images/article/10150.jpg

yeah, wrote that as a joke, but now i can kind of imagine it. and it sounds great!

self-reported demographic info:
I'm one of those who got on the bandwagon with Rubies after being a Pornos fan for a few years—was instantly converted by that album (tho these days it's not my favorite of his), was mildly disappointed by Dreams (meh initially, but it's risen in my estimation as Rubies has fallen—it may be 'Rubies pt.2' but they also counterbalance each other nicely—and "Shooting Rockets" is just amazing, much darker than anything on Rubies+sort of pointing in the 'sprawling/epic' direction), love Kaputt

having slowly worked my way through most of the back-catalog (I only just sought out Your Blues and Streethawk earlier this year), I think there are at least three stone-cold masterpieces (Streethawk, Rubies, and Kaputt—Your Blues may eventually crack this list but probably not until late winter, at the earliest)

I haven't listened to Thief or City of Daughters, and for the moment I don't really feel a pressing need to. but it's nice to know they're there for my future enjoyment!

guy's got such a varied discog it's not surprising there are so many diff takes. until kaputt came along, my opinion of destroyer was your blues is near perfection and then a handful of good cuts on the other records.

I've heard the last four as they've been released and nothing before that. I'd rank them Kaputt > Rubies > Your Blues > Trouble in Dreams.

Never really got into the NPs -- my favorite songs of theirs are the Bejar-sung ones like "Jackie Dressed in Cobras" and "Myriad Harbour."

Yeah sorry Owen I was talking about the album, I didn't listen to the link, although I love a load of stuff that Kaputt is evidently inspired by.