Though Dan Bejar’s unique vocal stylings are more popular in their New Pornographers chamber-pop vehicle, he has actually delivered more work under the name Destroyer, which has been around as some group of musicians or another since way back in 1995.
His newest LP, “Trouble in Dreams,” to be released by Merge March 18, is either his seventh, eighth or ninth Destroyer release depending on which musicians you consider “Destroyer” to consist of, and does not stray from, Destroyer’s consistent path of production evolution.
Working as Destroyer, Bejar’s earliest undertakings as a solo singer-songwriter were exactly that ““ solo. His extremely lo-fi album “We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge” exists more prominently in its selective and poppier reincarnations on The Pornographers’ “Mass Romantic” and “Twin Cinema.” By the time Bejar released “Thief” in 2000, he had a full band backing on every song on the album, appropriate considering Bejar intended Destroyer to exist as a full-fledged band instead of a moniker for his solo project.
The most recognizable feature of Bejar’s work has to be his own voice, which he does not let go to waste by singing just any old thing. The combination of his Bowie-mixed-with-Dylan delivery (even my little sister noticed this hybrid) and his T.S. Eliot equivalent of music lyrics is one of the most familiar aspects of any Destroyer album.
Just looking at his lyrics on paper would be a boon for any English major type, but when he stretches “Okay, fine, even the sky looks like wine/ And everywhere I turn there’s/ A new face in town stuck inside the well” over simple guitar strumming in the first moments of “Blue Flower/Blue Flame,” one can anticipate good things to follow.
But all too soon within that same song, an awkward tension between singer and song becomes clear, and not the type of tension that creates a discordant accord that could be interesting. In earlier Destroyer works, Bejar skillfully positions his curious vocals around the tempo, fulfilling our expectations by confounding them. However on songs like “Introducing Angels,” he too often is working with sounds that seem to be tailor-made to suit his style, as if they serve as backdrops for his voice.
This lack of Destroyer’s usual intriguing tension is underscored by the fact that, with few exceptions, much of the music on the album is lackluster, especially when compared with the previous decade of the band’s work.
Though Bejar is clearly moving forward as far as production techniques, many of the other instrumentals are too polished and too obviously layered, especially having been delivered by a full band.
Careful attention to the piano work on almost any song reveals that it could not stand proudly alone; little of the music is autonomous or could be listened to without Bejar’s redeeming vocals to carry the song to any destination.
This could all be good and fine if Bejar were to use his charismatic shrieking and yelling and fast delivery against such a drawl backbone, but alas, in this case, he does not.
Thankfully there are some exceptions, such as “Rivers,” one of the few instances of music that could be deemed dynamic independently of Bejar’s singing.
The song’s end builds and builds repetitively, using guitar instead of vocals to vary the steady pace toward something that can stand independent of Bejar’s singing.
“Leopard of Honor” is another nice experience, this time a testament to the song itself, as well as the vocals.
Strings of events and narrative clauses like “she says …” at first have the effect of telling a story, but in fact are still a cryptic arrangement that only sounds like a story, a sort of simulacrum, when delivered in Bejar’s strangely-paced style.
Finally there are some compelling piano thumps, not too loud but decent, and guitar work that strives to do more than backup the singer.
A third of the way through, the song takes a complete turn into starkness, the instruments falling back into the melody one by one as Bejar contrasts his earlier wash of words with a newfound “dum da da dum.”
The fairly alluring nature of this song serves also to throw into relief the calm, forgettable melodies of the rest of “Trouble in Dreams.”
While it’s clear that Bejar is moving toward a more refined finish as well as more cohesion and balance in both his music and vocal delivery, the effect is a disservice to the texture of a voice that once bounced so enjoyably against less placid music.
““ Shelby Chambers
E-mail Chambers at schambers@media.ucla.edu