Mark Reynolds

Destroyer, for those still unaware, is the moniker of Canadian musician Dan Bejar, who is probably better known for his work with supergroup The New Pornographers despite boasting a catalogue of critically acclaimed material himself. Trouble In Dreams is technically Bejar's tenth studio effort, if you include his very early and less prominent releases.

True to form he's tinkered with his musical style again, offering up another totally idiosyncratic record, full of ideas and his unmistakeable cryptic lyrics. It's always remained a mystery to me how Bejar delivers his vocals so tersely and unforgivingly atop of a backdrop of mellow guitar or even just whistling and yet somehow manages to pull it off. This time is no different, Bejar has managed to restrain is voice just enough to flirt with the idea of irritating but never quite getting there, whether planned or unplanned it's genius. It allows you to fully appreciate his entirely unique style and revel in it rather than having to suffer after about thirty minutes in like some of his previous records.

Opener ‘Blue Flower/Blue Flame’ is a laid back acoustic song that's about as close to folk as Bejar has probably ever been, but don't think this will ease you into the album, the lyrics ride roughshod over that with their entirely ambiguous nature – ‘A woman by another name is not a woman’. Frankly, it's a good thing, it would be so disappointing to see Bejar restrain himself too much and become something totally different. One of the great things about Bejar is that he has always been true to himself and made no apologies for it. You have to delve right in with this record and embrace it, don't sit there and expect it to do all the work for you.

The album is a mishmash of styles that succeeds because Bejar's consistent vocal style and decidedly meaningless lyrics throughout tie everything together. It's a record of extremes, where there are melodies they are vibrant and where there are lo-fi tunes they are gritty. The songs seem organic and honest, almost as if they grew out of the ground all by themselves and Bejar simply decorated them as he saw fit.

Trouble In Dreams really comes together in the midsection, beginning with ‘Foam Hands’ which opens with the tongue in cheek line, ‘True love regrets to inform you’ and continues to delight from there with Bejar seemingly wondering around unsure of anything. Following this is the album's greatest triumph ‘My Favorite Year’ which, following a prolonged and dreamscape of an intro, is catchy and full of energy. And to top it all off is the eight-minute melodramatic ‘Shooting Rockets (From The Desk Of Night's Ape)’, which leaves you in a lull and your senses slightly numbed. But the consecutive track ‘Introducing Angels’ carries you out of this gently and shepherds you to the end of the album from there, leaving you questioning where you went on your adventure. All that’s certain is that wherever you were, it wasn't of this world.

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