"Dueling cyclones jackknife/They make eyes at your wife/And the blood that lives in her/Heart"
WTF?!!!
So begins "Rubies" the opening track to Destroyer's greatest achievement to date Destroyer's Rubies and, incidentally, the single best almost ten minute song of the decade. A lot can be made of "Rubies" - for starters if you don't like it, well then you won't like Destroyer. It's lyrically dense and long and probably a little bit self indulgent. It takes no clear course, but rather it unfolds in directions one may not expect, but if you deconstruct the track it's actually a really great pop song.
That's Destroyer. Come in and join the part or don't. Either way.
Destroyer's Rubies is Dan Bejar's strongest full length album as statement (though you mat get a mouthful from those die-hards who will hear of nothing other than Streethawk: A Seduction) and also his most easy to like. Dan Bejar's a weird dude and so is a lot of music. He's rubbed me the wrong way at times just for coming off, and I'm coining a term here, "way-way-hipster" and that's not to say it doesn't exist on Destroyer's Rubies, it does, but it's toned down a bit. Take "Painter in Your Pocket" - it becomes a goddamn sing-along by the time it reaches it's climax. Also, "European Oils"? Come on...
I've had a very difficult time trying to get people behind this record and I have one friend in particular, Sarah Walker I'm looking at you, who when I make a record request now meets it with "It's not like that fucking Destroyer album is it?" And I can't fault her for that. I get that it can be off putting, but I also remember how enraptured I was by "Rubies" when I first heard it . There are times that I think I may overrate the record as a whole because of how much I love that song. This may be the case, but the fact that I still listen to the whole thing after that strong an opening track alleviates those fears just a bit.
And also, the cover is great.
No comments:
Post a Comment