Destroyer

Destroyer is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, Canada, formed in 1995 and active since then. The group is fronted by singer-songwriter Daniel Bejar, also known as Dan Bejar, and its members include Ted Bois, David Carswell, John Collins and Fisher Rose. Its music sits within chamber pop, indie pop, indie rock and sophisti-pop.

Style and writing

Destroyer is known for abstract, poetic lyrics and distinctive vocals. The band’s records often move between very different styles, with Bejar describing this as a deliberate aim to begin from scratch with each album. This approach gives the discography a varied character, even when common features such as dense writing and unusual vocal delivery remain present.

Early releases

The debut album, We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge, appears in 1996 and consists of sixteen lo-fi home recordings. Ideas for Songs, released on cassette in 1997, includes material in a similar vein and grows out of a request for songs for a compilation album. By the time of City of Daughters in 1998, producer John Collins joins Bejar, and the album is recorded in a proper studio while still retaining a homemade feel. Thief follows in 2000 and is the first Destroyer album to use a backing band on every track. Streethawk: A Seduction arrives in 2001 and continues the move toward a more refined sound.

2002 to 2007

This Night appears in 2002 and marks a major stylistic change with a looser, less rehearsed approach. Your Blues follows in 2004 and uses MIDI instrumentation for almost all of its backing music; Bejar describes its sound as “European blues.” The EP Notorious Lightning & Other Works reworks six songs from that album with a live band, specifically Frog Eyes, who tour with Destroyer in support of Your Blues. In 2006, Destroyer’s Rubies brings back a live band and presents a warmer, more focused production. Bejar describes it as his favourite Destroyer record.

2008 to 2013

Trouble in Dreams appears in 2008. Bejar says that ideas were scarce during its creation, and Ted Bois creates all of the string and synth arrangements rather than serving only as a piano and keyboard player. The 2009 EP Bay of Pigs is followed by Kaputt in 2011. That album draws on influences including Miles Davis and Roxy Music and moves toward jazz-infused, lounge-influenced sophisti-pop. It also marks several firsts for the band, including its first national television performance, first official video, first female backing vocals and the first time Bejar tours without an instrument, concentrating solely on singing. Kaputt is shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2011 and is ranked second in Pitchfork’s albums of the year list for that year. In 2013, the EP Five Spanish Songs presents covers of Sr. Chinarro songs sung entirely in Spanish.

2014 onward

Poison Season appears in 2015 and is recorded with a live band and a prominent string section. Bejar says the album grows from the sound of the group playing live after Kaputt. In 2017, ken is produced by drummer Joshua Wells, who is also a member of Black Mountain; Bejar writes much of it while touring in Washington State, and its songs recall his teenage years in the mid-1980s with loose links to Thatcher-era politics. Have We Met follows in 2020 and shifts away from the band-oriented recording style of earlier albums, with Bejar recording vocals at night at his kitchen table into a microphone connected to a laptop running GarageBand. Labyrinthitis is released in 2022; it is written mainly in 2020 and recorded in winter and spring 2021, with Bejar working from Vancouver and producer John Collins from Galiano Island. It is shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize in 2023.