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Review by Will Hermes(Rollingstone)-rate 4/5:
Like Neko Case, his bandmate in the New Pornographers, Destroyer's Dan Bejar has a solo career that's gone from sideshow to headliner. His latest seals the deal. Bejar's affection for early-Seventies glam — especially T. Rex and Bowie, when proto-punk canoodled with prog-rock fantasy flights — remains deep. But he's filtered his cribbing through an indie rocker's sense of humor and a poet's love of language.
"Caution — hot ashes‚/ The girl says to her first kiss," he begins on "Shooting Rockets," with guitarist Nicolas Bragg sending up notes like fireworks with every existential punch line ("My soul pukes the night away. . . . Off, treacherous bliss, off!"). The arrangements, with acoustic strumming, organ, parlor-room piano, even a low-fi harpsichord break ("The State"), conjure old-world vibes. But electric guitars and synthesizers howl in uneasy tribute to the present. "I've been living in America in churches of greed/It's sick!" Bejar declaims in the Pavement-esque "Dark Leaves Form a Thread." He resolves to stick it out anyway: "No, it's cool/You go, I'll stay/Perfectly at home with this dread." Join the club, pal.
Amazon Editorial Review:
All hail Destroyer's ninth-or-so full-length, Trouble in Dreams. Many, many gosh-darn dudes go in for the "vaguely weird indie-rock music with oblique lyrics" schtick, and yet it's still an utter joy to hear Dan Bejar do it. He does it so well: if you close your eyes (or if your record collection doesn't go back before 1995), you might believe he invented this stuff. Overloaded, gorgeous, EBowed guitar work drips all over these songs. A few tunes suffer a tad from overly proggy, lurching rhythms, particular "Plaza Trinidad," on which Bejar's singing sounds like a parody of himself. It's totally Bowie-does-Shakespeare-in-the-park, but the over-the-top delivery saves it. "Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night's Ape)" is another head-scratcher, an overblown yacht-rock nightmare that begs to be part of a Paul Williams rock opera. But it's weirdly beautiful, and lacking in irony, so go ahead and put it on the mix tape for that barista you're crushing out on. All the lewd language, baroque pronunciation, and laconic pace keep songs like "Libby's First Sunrise" or "Leopard of Honor" from the radio waves and Target commercials they should rightfully rule, but that doesn't keep them from being among the best, smartest, already classic rock music of 2008. --Mike McGonigal
Track List:
* Blue Flower/Blue Flame
* Dark Leaves Form A Thread
* The State
* Foam Hands
* My Favorite Year
* Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night's Ape)
* Introducing Angels
* Rivers
* Leopard Of Honor
* Plaza Trinidad
* Libby's First Sunrise
Review by Will Hermes(Rollingstone)-rate 4/5:
Like Neko Case, his bandmate in the New Pornographers, Destroyer's Dan Bejar has a solo career that's gone from sideshow to headliner. His latest seals the deal. Bejar's affection for early-Seventies glam — especially T. Rex and Bowie, when proto-punk canoodled with prog-rock fantasy flights — remains deep. But he's filtered his cribbing through an indie rocker's sense of humor and a poet's love of language.
"Caution — hot ashes‚/ The girl says to her first kiss," he begins on "Shooting Rockets," with guitarist Nicolas Bragg sending up notes like fireworks with every existential punch line ("My soul pukes the night away. . . . Off, treacherous bliss, off!"). The arrangements, with acoustic strumming, organ, parlor-room piano, even a low-fi harpsichord break ("The State"), conjure old-world vibes. But electric guitars and synthesizers howl in uneasy tribute to the present. "I've been living in America in churches of greed/It's sick!" Bejar declaims in the Pavement-esque "Dark Leaves Form a Thread." He resolves to stick it out anyway: "No, it's cool/You go, I'll stay/Perfectly at home with this dread." Join the club, pal.
Amazon Editorial Review:
All hail Destroyer's ninth-or-so full-length, Trouble in Dreams. Many, many gosh-darn dudes go in for the "vaguely weird indie-rock music with oblique lyrics" schtick, and yet it's still an utter joy to hear Dan Bejar do it. He does it so well: if you close your eyes (or if your record collection doesn't go back before 1995), you might believe he invented this stuff. Overloaded, gorgeous, EBowed guitar work drips all over these songs. A few tunes suffer a tad from overly proggy, lurching rhythms, particular "Plaza Trinidad," on which Bejar's singing sounds like a parody of himself. It's totally Bowie-does-Shakespeare-in-the-park, but the over-the-top delivery saves it. "Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night's Ape)" is another head-scratcher, an overblown yacht-rock nightmare that begs to be part of a Paul Williams rock opera. But it's weirdly beautiful, and lacking in irony, so go ahead and put it on the mix tape for that barista you're crushing out on. All the lewd language, baroque pronunciation, and laconic pace keep songs like "Libby's First Sunrise" or "Leopard of Honor" from the radio waves and Target commercials they should rightfully rule, but that doesn't keep them from being among the best, smartest, already classic rock music of 2008. --Mike McGonigal
Track List:
* Blue Flower/Blue Flame
* Dark Leaves Form A Thread
* The State
* Foam Hands
* My Favorite Year
* Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night's Ape)
* Introducing Angels
* Rivers
* Leopard Of Honor
* Plaza Trinidad
* Libby's First Sunrise