Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams

Destroyer
Trouble In Dreams
Merge

The eighth Destroyer album is a revelation on a couple fronts. First, it’s hard to deny that—at least for the time being—Dan Bejar is writing stronger melodies than his New Pornographers cohort Carl Newman. Secondly, after six or seven years listening to the man’s unconventional but oddly familiar vocal stylings, Trouble In Dreams finally helped me realize that Bejar sounds exactly like a cross between Robyn Hitchcock and Grover from Sesame Street. To be more accurate, it would have to be Super Grover, to account for the pretentiousness. But I digress.

Trouble In Dreams picks up where 2006’s Rubies left off, with Bejar testing out his tried and true weirdo storytelling approach in increasingly catchy, slickly produced environs. In fact, the Hitchcock similarities probably came to light in large part because of the ‘80s tinged psych-poppiness of tracks like “Dark Leaves Form a Thread” and “My Favorite Year.” Other times, though, the retro piano balladry starts to sound considerably more mainstream, like a Dire Straits slow down (“Foam Hands”) or, um, Bruce Hornsby and the Range (“Introducing Angels”)? If Bejar wasn’t such an intriguing little Muppet, it might all be too much. But he’s still one of the best wordsmiths out there, and he’s made it clear yet again. Destroyer is not his “other” band.

(Andrew Clayman)


Published in The Metro Pulse, April 2008