yasssss
― niels, Thursday, 14 September 2017 06:45 (six years ago) link
hum. on first listen, the production and arrangements are nice but the song itself didn't really catch me.will give it more time.
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 14 September 2017 07:04 (six years ago) link
this album is pleasant but underwhelming, mostly just comes across as a less successful and ambitious Kaputt that leans much more into the New Order pastiche side of things. Rome is the clear highlight
― ufo, Tuesday, 10 October 2017 04:30 (six years ago) link
This is really disappointing. The production and nods to New Order are cool, but the hooks are mostly really weak.
― kitchen person, Tuesday, 10 October 2017 20:39 (six years ago) link
sad to hear that
when is it out though?
― niels, Tuesday, 10 October 2017 21:02 (six years ago) link
oct 20
as stated
in the first post
itt
― -_- (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 10 October 2017 21:06 (six years ago) link
-rupi kaur
bookmarked threads should show the first post
― you are juror number 144 and we will excuse you (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, 10 October 2017 22:16 (six years ago) link
yes that would be nicethanks anyway!
― niels, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 06:11 (six years ago) link
after Tinsletown, which imo is one of his best songs, i had high expectations.but the record is indeed meh. Lack of enthusiasm from Bejar here.
― nostormo, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 08:26 (six years ago) link
These reactions make me sad, I enjoyed both singles a lot and was/am really looking forward to this. I thought Poison Season was as good as Kaputt though, so I may be out of step here.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 11 October 2017 08:50 (six years ago) link
It's nowhere near as good as Poison Season. Nostormo is right, it's a very tired sounding record with him sounding like he's on autopilot.
― kitchen person, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 14:13 (six years ago) link
album art rather poor come to think of it, ime often a sign of fatigue/autopilot (with Dylan you can mostly judge the records by their covers)
― niels, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 14:39 (six years ago) link
I think a big part of what's lacking is the band, as this is his first 'solo' album since Your Blues (though that was great). he's got a really great band at the moment and fully utilising them, instead of just bringing them in for a few parts each here and there, would have made it so much more texturally interesting
― ufo, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 15:03 (six years ago) link
Sadface. Very right about how good his band is, though.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Wednesday, 11 October 2017 15:12 (six years ago) link
ok so I got hold of a digital copy and 3 songs in this sounds great?
― niels, Wednesday, 11 October 2017 17:02 (six years ago) link
https://pitchfork.com/features/song-by-song/destroyers-dan-bejar-decodes-every-song-on-his-new-album-ken/
― AlXTC from Paris, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 10:29 (six years ago) link
oooh, decoding!
― niels, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 12:22 (six years ago) link
I think it's quite good! Not sure why the lukewarm response. It's a bit "different" than the last two - which I absolutely loved and I probably put Poison Season above Kaputt at this point. It's a bit more like the pre-Kaputt material, for reasons stated above. I think lyrically it's as strong as anything and it will reveal its depths.
― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB), Wednesday, 18 October 2017 17:14 (six years ago) link
agree, sounds good to my ears as well and I always enjoy his lyrics
interesting to see all the British references, first the Suede song, now there's Cure (Disintegration), new romantics, Oliver Twist, Pete Doherty, Stones...
― niels, Wednesday, 18 October 2017 18:41 (six years ago) link
This album is great. Think his lyrics still have a wit to them that I find appealing and the tunes are pretty catchy, if maybe a little straight forward.
― husked, tonal wails (irrational), Thursday, 19 October 2017 15:59 (six years ago) link
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ken/
This is a weird review. As if the reviewer had only listened to a couple of songs from the album.
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 20 October 2017 08:10 (six years ago) link
I'm pretty excited for this now, based on all the reviews. Hopefully pick it up today.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 20 October 2017 08:18 (six years ago) link
i'm certainly enjoying this, it just doesn't reach the same heights as the last two (though anything is underwhelming compared to kaputt) and it's his least ambitious album in a long time
― ufo, Friday, 20 October 2017 08:32 (six years ago) link
yeah, that review is weirdly off
― niels, Friday, 20 October 2017 08:54 (six years ago) link
I just listened to the whole album.For all the Cure talk, I hear more New Order touches and I really like the sound overall (much more than the previous album).That said, the songs don't seem very strong.I'll see after a few times.
― AlXTC from Paris, Friday, 20 October 2017 14:11 (six years ago) link
After a few times I begin to like this a lot.I didn't particularly like "Tinseltown" as a single but in the context of the album, it's very enjoyable.
― AlXTC from Paris, Saturday, 21 October 2017 10:10 (six years ago) link
this album rules
it's a return to the style of Rubies and Trouble in Dreams, with those slightly weird psychedelic melodies that Bejar excells at, incorporating parts of the sonic palette (80s synth, verby trumpet) from Kaputt and Poison Season
personally I like it more than Poison Season but maybe it's just that I'm happy he seems to be revisiting a style of writing I'd been missing
on another note, I like how careful and serious he is about his lyrics, abstract and aloof as they may sometimes sound:
Just that first line: “I can’t pay for this, all I’ve got is money.” I really like it, but it made me feel uncomfortable right away, writing it and singing it.
― niels, Thursday, 26 October 2017 21:14 (six years ago) link
I've gone back to this to see if it grows on me. It has in places, but overall I still think it's really disappointing. There are several songs where I'd just rather listen to Savage Night At The Opera instead. Rome to Stay Lost totally pass me by. Sky's Grey, Saw You At The Hospital, A Light Travels Down The Catwalk and Le Regle Du Jeu would make a brilliant EP.
― kitchen person, Thursday, 26 October 2017 21:51 (six years ago) link
I'm a big fan of this, I was on the fence for the first few listens but now prefer it to Poison Season and about the same as Kaputt. Stay Lost should be a hit!
― cajunsunday, Thursday, 26 October 2017 22:12 (six years ago) link
On first listen, it felt like something was missing from this, some key element. Will try again and see if it improves.
― Moodles, Thursday, 26 October 2017 22:16 (six years ago) link
this didn't grab me on first listen (which were under ideal conditions for me -- long drive across the desert), but i'm planning to return to it
― gbx, Friday, 27 October 2017 00:13 (six years ago) link
except for tinseltown, which is excellent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUIZRcZEITo
the ken songs really sound so much better live
― ufo, Tuesday, 1 May 2018 00:18 (five years ago) link
https://music.apple.com/us/album/have-we-met/1481871751
new album Have We Met out Jan 31, the single "Crimson Tide" appears to be out tomorrow. there's a preview there and it sounds like the synths haven't gone anywhere
― ufo, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 08:24 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mFTgJQtCPk
― american bradass (BradNelson), Tuesday, 22 October 2019 14:44 (four years ago) link
The video is not available in my country. Fuck that.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 22 October 2019 14:47 (four years ago) link
Anyway, I really liked ken - not as much as Poison Season, which I thought was just as good as Kaputt, but more than most, I think. So I'm looking forward to this.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 22 October 2019 14:50 (four years ago) link
i like this new song but i haven't actually listened to the last two destroyer records. new order-y but with a lot of negative space
― american bradass (BradNelson), Tuesday, 22 October 2019 14:53 (four years ago) link
The last two albums have good stuff on them, they're just rather uneven.
― MarkoP, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 15:03 (four years ago) link
I’m not sure there’s much of a song but on first listen I like the production and arrangements a lot.
― AlXTC from Paris, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 16:31 (four years ago) link
Lovely stuff.
― hot dog go to bathroom (cajunsunday), Tuesday, 22 October 2019 16:36 (four years ago) link
He may be in the midst of the Push The Sky Away phase of his career
That said, I'm definitely on board with any song titled "The Television Music Supervisor"
― Paul Ponzi, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 16:39 (four years ago) link
new song sounds great
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 16:57 (four years ago) link
this is wonderful! i liked ken alright enough but the arrangement is a step up from anything on that
― ufo, Tuesday, 22 October 2019 22:55 (four years ago) link
What a weird video lol
― cheese canopy (map), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 04:16 (four years ago) link
Destroyer’s Dan Bejar initially conceived of Have We Met as a Y2K album. He was already active during the era but not heard overhead in a cafe or salon, which is perhaps what the idea of the Y2K sound evokes nearly two decades later. Bejar assigned frequent producer and bandmate John Collins the role of layering synth and rhythm sections over demos with the period-specific Björk, Air, and Massive Attack in mind, but he soon realized the sonic template was too removed from Destroyer’s own, and the idea of a concept was silly anyway. So he abandoned it and gave Collins the most timeless instruction of all: “Make it sound cool.”
this is from the press release and i'm kinda annoyed that he gave up on that idea because that sounds like a great reference point for a destroyer album to me! i'm happy enough with more of the sophisti-new order that's largely defined him this decade on "crimson tide" though
― ufo, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 04:24 (four years ago) link
eheh it does sound cool !
― AlXTC from Paris, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 08:30 (four years ago) link
Rubies songwriting, Kaputt production.Sounds good to me.
― nostormo, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 19:59 (four years ago) link
lol at "make it sound cool" that's bejar in a nutshell
― cheese canopy (map), Wednesday, 23 October 2019 20:55 (four years ago) link
i wouldn't call this kaputt production at all, that slinky synth funk angle is v different
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 23:02 (four years ago) link
it's a little different to kaputt but the closest he's come to it since (not that he's strayed that far either). a bit more propulsive instead of the way kaputt luxuriates in the endlessly soloing guitars, trumpets, and saxes
i can easily imagine "make it sound... cooool!" as one of his lyrics
― ufo, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 23:14 (four years ago) link
nice of him to make sure kaputt 2 is in a different decade so he can have two AotDs
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 23 October 2019 23:38 (four years ago) link
Yeah, it doesn't sound like Kaputt. otm "more propulsive".Unfortunately the song is not very good, after listening to it a few times.
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 24 October 2019 08:34 (four years ago) link
yeah I'm not particularly enamored with this
― Seany's too Dyche to mention (jim in vancouver), Thursday, 24 October 2019 16:45 (four years ago) link
i listened to it like 15 times yesterday so i think it's probably good
― ciderpress, Thursday, 24 October 2019 20:37 (four years ago) link
i guess i did the same with Times Square though and then never really got on board with that record
― ciderpress, Thursday, 24 October 2019 21:04 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmApPGE6Zio
this one's pretty good too, another synthpop track but with a different vibe to anything on ken
― ufo, Wednesday, 20 November 2019 05:50 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qcSbi9WrM
three for three
― ufo, Wednesday, 8 January 2020 11:52 (four years ago) link
Talking of synthesisers, any love for the 2022 album Labyrinthitis?
― giraffe, Thursday, 6 October 2022 07:00 (one year ago) link
Destroyer "Have We Met" out 1/31/20
there was discussion in the have we met thread
i think it's probably his best since kaputt, though it notably falls off in the last two tracks
― ufo, Thursday, 6 October 2022 08:55 (one year ago) link
Ah thanks ufo. I'll head over there.
― giraffe, Thursday, 6 October 2022 09:30 (one year ago) link