I suspect a fairly substantial number of (LO)BM's readership is familiar with the work of the New Pornographers (except for my parents). Probably slightly fewer peeps are into or familiar with individual Pornographers: AC Newman, Neko Case, and the subject of today's post, Dan Bejar aka Destroyer.
I've never been a real active fan of Destroyer (which is the reason there isn't a whole lot of Destroyer talk here). There's always been something a little too arty, or this sort of poetic air to his songs that have always just put me off. I mean, really, who wears a scarf inside (photo)... c'mon! Despite my misgivings about Bejar's whole aesthetic, he writes (or sings) my favourite Pornographers songs and Destroyer's Rubies [2006] has somehow - possibly b/c the first 4 songs are truly outstanding - become a real go to album for me, like, I'd give it serious consideration for top-20 of the 00s kind of good.
So, given my distaste for the whole aesthetic but my secret love for his songwriting, I was ready to completely write of the whole Bay of Pigs EP - 13 mins. "Bay of Pigs" + 8 mins "Ravers" - as, well, a Bay of Pigs like disaster (I suspect that probably wasn't what he was trying to do with that title). I'm not sure it's my favourite, it's slow, there's some electronicness in it, and there are geniunely points in the title track where, when you're doing something else and listening you wonder whether the song is actually on, but I suppose that's Bejar.
Even with all that experimentation, there's definitely something there that people who like Bejar in the first place are going to really appreciate -- unless they forgot the album was on and went and did something else. Bay of Pigs, I don't think, will win over any new fans, but it should give Bejarophiles something to sink their teeth into. If you're new to Bejar, personally, I'd start with the song "An Actor's Revenge" and then move your way into Destoyer's Rubies... but that's just me...
[mp3] Destroyer - Bay of Pigs
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