Very infrequently can a single record combine superiorly-crafted lyrics, outstanding vocals and cohesive instrumental elements. In the span of a sparse ten songs and fifty-three minutes, Destroyer's new release, "Destroyer's Rubies," does just that.
Vancouver-based Destroyer is front-manned by New Pornographer Dan Bejar. Despite Bejar's incessant assurances otherwise, he alone is truly Destroyer. Indeed, the indie-pop outfit has seen a variety of members come and go, but the group has always been Bejar's brainchild and artistic conduit.
"Destroyer's Rubies" marks Bejar's eighth release under the Destroyer name. Over the course of those six LPs (and two EPs), Bejar has explored myriad musical styles ranging from his debut "We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge" (1996), an electric folk record, to synth-heavy "Your Blues" (2004).
Bejar's artistic genius is far from tapped dry, though; "Destroyer's Rubies" may be the most impressive music he has ever released. This greatness is due in a large part to Bejar's incredible vocal performance. Throughout the album, his voice offers a variety of styles and nuances, meshing together with the rest of his music.
The album begins with title track "Rubies." Here, Destroyer ebbs and flows between gossamer acoustic and melodious electric guitars, presenting the listener with a dramatic and epic feeling. Organic drums and vibraphone lend a wispy feel to the song. "Rubies" explores the full breadth of Bejar's voice within one single track. He travels through an ephemeral falsetto to his patented yelpy trill and finally to a forcefully confident cry.
"Your Blood" and "European Oils" come next. In both of these songs, Destroyer's guitar whirls team with a piano and uniform drumbeat that evoke both a pop rock and sing-songy feel. Just as in the opening track, these two songs are vocally and instrumentally dynamic.
In "Your Blood," Bejar's voice wavers from a nonchalant, conversational tone to a full-out wail as his voice and the guitar intertwine; the guitar swells just as his voice does and conversely telescopes as Bejar spouts more intimate lyrics.
In "European Oils," his voice ranges from a mere whisper to a frantic yell in conjunction with a similarly deviating guitar. By the end of the song, Destroyer is in full fanfare with a blaring guitar, piano, and saxophone.
Bejar begins the fourth track, "Painter in Your Pocket," with a bleating trill reminiscent of a nasally Colin Meloy. In the beginning of the song, he is accompanied by a sparse acoustic guitar. But quite quickly, the song builds into one of the more intense tracks on the album. In the final minute and a half, Destroyer takes it up one more notch for a final crescendo, as the instrumentalists begin playing harder to mimic Bejar's increasingly loudening vocals.
Midway through the album, "Looters' Follies" resembles a lounge song of sorts, complete with cocktail drums, parlor piano and saxophone. The elegant chord progressions and intense bridge of the song make for a wholly emotional experience.
Although "Looters' Follies" is the album's second longest track, it is one of the more stagnant ones; the song seems to go on a few minutes too long. Bejar should have cut the song off after guitarist Nicholas Bragg's impressive guitar solo and at the song's emotional climax. Instead, the song more or less repeats the dynamic of the previous four minutes for another two and a half.
From then on, Bejar's musical aptitude somewhat weakens, as many of the songs on the latter half of the album are far less innovative than those on the former. Repeating his proclivity for providing too much of a good thing, Bejar isn't quite sure when to let go in the slow-moving finale "Sick Priest Learns to Last Forever," which stammers through six minutes of somewhat boring (albeit eclectic) music.
It would be imprudent not to recognize Bejar's lyrical effort on "Destroyer's Rubies." Despite having the legacy of impenetrability, his lyrics are imaginative and impressive. This is best exemplified by songs like "European Oils" ("I made a tomb for all the incompatible cells I could take / I brought bells to the wake") where his sardonic wit and creativity abound. On "Rubies," he actually pens lyrical references to Led Zeppelin and Otis Redding, among others. He even incorporates previous Destroyer album title "Your Blues" into his lyrics.
Although Bejar's genius may falter towards the end, it is the first half of "Destroyer's Rubies" that shines through, outweighing second-half missteps. Most important is Bejar's versatility as a vocalist and lyricist. Over the course of the album, there exists a sort of interplay between Bejar's vocal charm and the music to which he sets it; the overall effect is that his singing seems as integral to the songs as their driving instrumental forces.
