Destroyer

Dan Bejar is one prolific guy. Since the last Destroyer album, he has toured with the New Pornographers, collaborated with members of Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes to record the stunning debut of Swan Lake, started a band with his girlfriend, released their album, and managed to maintain the same lineup for more than one Destroyer release. These accomplishments make “Trouble in Dreams,” Destroyer’s polished eighth full-length LP, all the more impressive.

“Destroyer’s Rubies,” the group’s critically lauded 2006 release, is one of the finest rock albums of the last five years. Each song was a painstakingly crafted wonder, sounding at once grandiose and sparse. Verses simply stuck; it didn’t matter if they were only mildly clever (“All good things must come to an end / The bad ones just go on forever”) or undeniably original (“Those who love Zeppelin will soon betray Floyd / I cast off these couplets in honor of the void”).

The same philosophy continues on “Trouble in Dreams,” with slightly dampened but still appealing results. The endlessly cryptic lyrics, majestic instrumentation, self-referentialism, and Bowie-imitation remain. But Bejar also does some other, more unexpected emulations, which pay off handsomely.

“Dark Leaves Form a Thread,” the most immediately catchy song on the album, sounds like a ragged collaboration of Guided By Voices and New Order. The crashing drums and singing guitar build until Bejar shouts the triumphant title line, then the synths kick in and the tune floats gloriously thereafter. His declarations are typically bizarre (“So, should you still want me / You can find me down at the café / A little bit too busy being served / Sworn enemy of the waitresses there”) but here it works, lending a darker edge to an otherwise exuberant song.

Many of the tracks gradually escalate in intensity to the brink of self-destruction. Just when a song is about to devolve into apeshit hysterics, Bejar invariably rescues it, slowly luring the melodies back to something catchy. “I’m not the kind to tell you what is true and what is totally out of control,” he quips on “Foam Hands,” but his mastery of this musical détente proves that he very well could. It’s a remarkable play of tension and one that makes the album both thrilling and frightening.

Take, for example, “Rivers.” Bejar holds off until just past the halfway mark, then cuts loose in a crash of screaming, cymbals, piano, and spastic classic rock guitar. Likewise, both “The State” and “Plaza of Trinidad” manage to merge country tinges, bluesy undertones, and prog-rock guitar, but both explode halfway through (with organs and screaming, respectively).

When not engaging in their usual dramatics, Destroyer does well just being pretty. Opening track “Blue Flower/Blue Flame” sticks firmly to strummy acoustic guitar. Piano and lazy steel guitar eventually drift in, but they never overwhelm Bejar’s poetry. “Introducing Angels” is perhaps the most simplistic song, but it’s also the most straightforwardly beautiful. The lines are literally punctuated by sighs. Strings swell to the song’s climax, piano tinkles in the background, and the whole song seems to swoon.

In this same vein, the Yo La Tengo-esque “My Favorite Year,” with its pulsating drone, high-pitched echoes, and swirling piano, proves that Bejar can still write a six-minute epic that doesn’t sound a second too long.

Closing track “Libby’s Sunrise”—a blemish on an otherwise pristine album—illustrates one of Bejar’s occasional problems: his endless flourishes can sound tacked-on when the song isn’t strong enough to support them. Wandering aimlessly, the track isn’t compelling enough to warrant more than two listens, despite attempts to enliven it via handclaps.

Bejar makes up for some of the weaknesses in his songs simply by being enthusiastic. Every note he hits, every yelp, scream, and ironic refrain is uniquely his; this far into his career, he still sounds completely into it. It’s admirable, but makes you wonder if he can sustain such dramatics for much longer. The similarity between “Trouble in Dreams” and his last album shows that, after much experimentation, Bejar is finally finding his niche, and is therefore ever in danger of becoming a caricature of himself.

For now, however, the product still sounds fresh and the songs are more than enough to hold fans over until the inevitable next Bejar release. “Trouble in Dreams” may not match the awe-inspiring splendor of “Rubies,” but Destroyer has still compiled another set of precious gems.