2006, Part Two

Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies (2006)

Dan Bejar is one of 3 notable singers and songwriters in The New Pornographers, and his really fey, distinctive voice has arguably been one of their best assets, if not an underused one. Bejar is one of the looser components of the group, however (The Pornographers are really A.C. Newman's baby), and spends most of his time touring or recording for his solo project, Destroyer. This is the third album of Destroyer material in the past five years, and, comparitively, is the sound of Bejar finally feeling a little more comfortable in his own skin. 2004's Your Blues was a great record, don't get it me wrong, but the instrumentation and arrangements hinted that Bejar was holding something back. The title track and opener for Destroyer's Rubies, a nearly 9-minute long epic, is therefore suprising. It's fucking great, though, too, with typically veiled lyrical allegories, and so many sections that it could easily be 2 or 3 seperate songs. The rest of the record is also just as solid; again much more deliberate-sounding than previous efforts. It really is one of the best things to be coming out this year, and will probably only serve to deify Dan Bejar more than he already has been in the underground music community.

Download the title track "Rubies"

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