Destroyer Prepare to Stir 'Trouble in Dreams'

These days, it's impossible to ignore Canada's presence in the indie music world.  Can anyone really find fault in our country's scene the same year the Arcade Fire performed with the boss himself?   High profile releases last year from bands like the Arcade Fire and  Broken Social Scene have solidified central Canada as an indie-rock Mecca, but don't forget about the west coast.  Early 2008 is gearing up to be Vancouver's opportunity to shine, beginning with the city's own Black Mountain, as their stellar In The Future finds release this week.

Come March, Vancouverites will again be reminded of how sonically talented our locals can get as Destroyer plan on unleashing their eighth studio album, Trouble in Dreams...

One of Vancouver's most acknowledged names in the indie world, Destroyer is the brainchild and primary creative outlet of Dan Bejar.  Currently one of Canada's most prolific recording artists, Bejar has worked harder than most for his success.  Creating Destroyer as a solo project in 1995, by his third album Thief the band had expanded to a quintet and their unique, avante-rock sound was firmly established.  

Perhaps best known for his involvement in the New Pornographers, Bejar was critical in launching the west coast 'supergroup' to immediate fame in 2000.  In recent years, Dan has rejected extensive involvement in the band to focus on his own distinctive brand of indie rock.

Met with Bowie comparisons from the get-go, over the years Bejar developed a kind of melancholy, romantically surreal lyrical style, always skirting the edge between meaning and nonsense, and almost always coming out on the "oh my god profound" side of things.  The man's as much of an argument for the poetic worth of modern music as you can get, and it doesn't hurt that he throws West Coast references into the mix every now and then.

2006 saw the release of Bejar's strongest statement to date, and arguably one of the greatest Canadian rock albums of the last ten years: Rubies.  Heralded by The Village Voice as "stupendous" and Uncut Magazine as "a singular, rhapsodic triumph", the album had a firm place at the top of my year-end list, and only gets better with age.  Destroyer's new release not only leaves listeners with a lot to get excited about, it has some really great music to live up to.

After just under a week with Trouble in Dreams, I can say that it does nothing but impress.  In the stunning opener "Blue Flower/Blue Flame", Bejar begins by stating he's got 'fresh hells to attend to,' and the resultant record is expectantly dark, beautiful, and mysterious.  Every song overflows with wonderful lines;  'Blue Flower/Blue Flame/A woman by another name is not a woman/I'll tell you what I mean by that/[...]Maybe not today.'

Album highlights include the previously quoted opener, arresting builder "Foam Hands" (available below), rollicking "My Favorite Year" and the beautiful closer "Libby's first Sunrise."  Only Destroyer could pull off the penultimate track "Plaza Trinidad," shifting between anthemic chorus and melodic chaos as Bejar sings 'I was stuck inside a river's flow / a quarter's glow / a world that war / the kind of thing we've seen before /[...] I couldn't believe how loud it was / how loud it was'

The last time Dan played here in town was at the miserable Scratch Records anniversary party.  I can't wait to see him in a proper venue, painting with words like only he can. Keep your eyes open for tickets, as the inevitable spring tour to support the album is bound to be announced in the next month.  We'll try to keep you posted here at Beyond Robson, but based on the strength of the latest release, this one is guaranteed to sell out first.

Trouble in Dreams is out on March 18th.  Support your local artists and buy this one.

In the meantime, check out these videos of Bejar performing some of the new songs...

And get lost in one of the record's best tracks, "Foam Hands", also available for download over at stereogum.