Destroyer

Trouble In Dreams

2008-03-31

Dan Bejar has probably gotten more exposure as a member of The New Pornographers than he has from Destroyer, his main band that’s been around for over a decade. A shame to be sure, because Destroyer outshine The New Pornographers in many ways. Trouble In Dreams, the latest album from Destroyer, is leagues better than The New Pornographers latest album, Challengers. The music on Trouble In Dreams is fascinatingly unpredictable. Bejar is a very spontaneous musician, and his compositions are likely burst in an entirely new direction at any given second. But as strange as the musical progression here are sometimes, Bejar is careful not to let his compositions get bogged down with musical unintelligibility. Shooting Rockets is the clear standout here. The music is simultaneously beautiful and troubling, and Bejar’s mysterious stream-of-consciousness lyrics only enhance the feeling of dark intrigue on the track. Elsewhere on the album, Bejar’s music has a more poppy approach, although it’s anything but formulaic (Rivers and Dark Leaves Form A Thread are great examples of this). I’ve only heard three Destroyer albums: City of Daughters, Destroyer’s Rubies and Trouble In Dreams. Of all of them, Trouble In Dreams strikes me as being the best. -Adam Goran

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