Talitres

News

Bands

• Elk City
• The Birdwatcher
• Brando
• DESTROYER
• The Walkmen
• Dakota Suite
• Calla
• Temper
• The National

Catalogue - Mail order

Distribution

Contacts

Newsletter

Links

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DESTROYER - PRESS REVIEW

CMJ Monthly - Comes With A smile - Delusion of Adequacy - Fakejazz - Pitchfork - Time Out New York -

CMJ Monthly

Falling halfway between David Bowie's querulous howl and the feathery delivery of the Sea And Cake's Sam Prekop, Dan Bejar's whine is the first thing anyone notices about Destroyer. This observation comes partly at the expense of the backing tracks and partly because of them: Bejar's bright gasps cut through these tightly wound, hook-heavy capsules of crunch guitar ("The Sublimation Hour") and piano glitz ("The Very Modern Dance") that are so Beatles and Bowie, they're easy to overlook despite their sublime execution. It's not until you put voice and instrument together that it hits you - this is a concept album. "So put your hands together / I hear it's a must / 'Til this phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust", Bejar brays, reprising an old Clash line. And then later, "Write your English music / Run free". Streethawk: A Seduction doesn't just spring from Sgt. Pepper's and Ziggy Stardust, it's about them. Sure, it's so densely verbose that it's hard to deduce a more specific theme. But the soft "Helena" must be about the love interest, and the explosion sound-effect that ends one song must denote something, well, bad. Even if you never quite figure it out, by the album's wistful, nebulous end, what's transpired is surely more consequential, and pleasurable, than the simple classicist pop you originally perceived. Dylan Siegler

Comes with a smile

Are you ready for Destroyer ? The latest in a new wave of speed metal bands festooned with bad haircuts and rottweiller tattoos, screaming about Satan, death and destruction to the sound of frenetic fretwork. No ? Well, fear not, Destroyer, despite their name, are an entirely different proposition. A tight, no-nonsense indie band with something special bubbling under the apparently simple surface of their songs. The title track introduces Daniel Bejar's voice, a sort of cross between the lead singer of Granfaloon Bus and Will Oldham, an acquired taste certainly, but one like steak tartar that soon proves irresistible, especially when he's singing "Go or don't go" on the chorus with the kind of passion and need that' so lacking in the irony rich field of today's music. A basic guitar, bass and drum trio aided and abetted by some wondrous piano and keyboard solos, there's something so fresh and unaffected about Destroyer's music, something that keeps you hitting the Play button. Even the seven minutes Bad Arts manages to sound taut and tight as a Marine's bed. Most obvious reference point is perhaps early Pavement, Bejar sounding a bit like Malkmus' younger brother and having a similar penchant for weird song subjects, cerebral and non-personal lyrics. The Sublimation Hour is a great tribute to the uselessness of rock with a well embedded London Calling quote while Virgin With a Memory is a sprightly acoustic number with the nagging refrain of "Was is the movie of the making of Fitzcarraldo ?" The second half of this album is even more impressive, the slow agonised Farrar, Strauss and Giroux (not, unfortunately, a tribute to one half of Uncle Tupelo) spins around the refrain of "no man has ever hung himself from the rafters of a second home" - a fact that Michael Meacher should perhaps be made aware of. Ignore the name and you'll find a small and perfectly formed debut. A flash spark of friction, a splinter in the polished homogeneity of the current music scene. Stav Sherez

Delusion of Adequacy

Latest album under the Destroyer project. While 2000's Thief was one of the most under-rated, difficult-to-find, and amazing pop albums of the year, 2001's Streethawk: A Seduction is nearly as catchy and leaps and bounds forward in terms of pop songwriting. And despite the recognition Bejar received as primary songwriter of the indie rock supergroup The New Pornographers, Destroyer is where his true talents shine.

Now a full-time quintet lead by Bejar, Destroyer is first and foremost a pop band, and a simple one at that. Influenced by the 60's and 70's pop of the Beatles and Bowie equally, there is nonetheless a true indie rock aesthetic to these songs found only in the best songs by bands like Pavement and Neutral Milk Hotel. Bejar's first instrument, beyond his high-pitched voice, is the piano, and it is used here significantly. Yet it's put aside often as well to let the pop songs shine through, something that Thief wasn't always able to do.

The Bowie comparisons are evident from the piano-driven power-pop of the opener "Streethawk I," as Bejar sings "as we lay down our weapons, and sure enough, we are slain by that stuff." It doesn't quite compare to the momentous "The Bad Arts," however, which explodes (literally) at one point, recedes into gentle pop singing, and has moments of beauty and complexity. "You've got to stay critical or die," Bejar sings in the poppy, organ-filled "Beggars Might Ride," while the more emphatic rock music on "The Sublimation Hour" takes the focus, aallowin Bejar to ask "well isn't that what rock-n-roll is all about?"

Bejar shows off his penchant for literary-filled intellectual lyrics on songs like the contemplative "Virgin with a Memory" and does his best Elvis Costello impression on the very poppy piano song "The Very Modern Dance." The quiet and rich "Helena" and "Strike" brilliantly showcase Bejar's unique singing style and songwriting ability.

Some have said Streethawk: A Seduction has some kind of common theme tying it together, but Bejar dismisses that. It's just a pop album, with its retro influences and indie rock sensibilities. And with Bejar writing the songs, this album deserves recognition. Truly a marvelous piece of music, it must be heard. Jeff

Fakejazz 10/12

Dan Bejar's Destroyer has now released four albums on various independent labels, but he is most known for his contributions to the hyped-but-deserving New Pornographers album. Streethawk: A Seduction showcases Bejar's own songwriting and arrangements, carried by his unique voice and well-crafted instrumentation.
Lyrically cryptic, Destroyer songs are carried by the vocal melodies and Jason Zumpano's piano. Formerly of his eponymous band (Canada's other under-appreciated pop geniuses), Zumpano moves off the drums to drive several songs with a bright, crisp piano sound that throws back to pop music of decades past without sounding retro. Bejar's melodies are catchy as hell, especially on the seven minute opus "The Bad Arts."
His voice is fairly dry, with an odd inflection that lingers on strange syllables and occasionally just misses the mark. It sounds great with just an acoustic guitar underneath (as on the beautiful "Helena"), but it also works on more orchestrated parts like "The Sublimation Hour" or "Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Sea of Tears)." The melodies are fairly Pavement-influenced, twisting around offbeat lyrics but with a far more genuine affect.
Like a great Wallace Stevens poem, Destroyer lyrics manage to convey emotion without being directly obvious. "Virgin With A Memory" references Werner Herzog, and "The Bad Arts" actually steals a line from Joy Division. However, Bejar is anything but a reference- spouting hipster; "The Crossover" is a subtle song that would belong on Sister Lovers.
If this is a concept album, the story is utterly lost on me; the album succeeds anyway, as the suggestion of imagery works better than more explicit lyrics. The music similarly is catchy without being corny, and the arrangements are grin-inducing but not saccharine. Destroyer's pop niche is equally akin to Nilsson as to indie pop, and this willingness to break with the trends makes the album so enjoyable

Pitchfork review - Rating 8,5

Hello, friend. I see that you have come to get the scoop on the latest Destroyer record. Perhaps you are here because you are aware of Destroyer frontman Daniel Bejar's contributions to the New Pornographers. Or maybe you picked up last year's excellent Thief, and are here to see whether Streethawk is similarly worth your time and money. Perhaps you mistakenly happened upon this whilst looking for information on the "insane crushing grind band" Pig Destroyer. But the reason doesn't matter. What matters is that you're here.
Well, friend, there's something I feel I must tell you before we continue. If you came here expecting to read about traditional pop music, turn back now. Right now. Save yourself. Pop a copy of a High Llamas or Sloan CD into your stereo. Nod your head up and down to the syrupy harmonies and simple, straightforward songs. But know that there is a world where your fragile concepts of pop music cease to hold true-- where what's right isn't necessarily right, and what's wrong can be the most memorable thing you've heard in ages. This, friend, is the world of Destroyer.
If you've come here looking for more of what's on Thief, or the New Pornographers' Mass Romantic, I do not doubt that you are presently staring at the screen in disbelief. Please, pull yourself together. You may now be saying to yourself, "Wow, I don't think Streethawk is what I'm looking for." Upon first listen, you may think that this sentiment is being confirmed. "Where are the hooks?" you may wonder. "Why are the chords doing that?" Little do you know that it's only a matter of time before you'll be singing right along with it.
For you see, friend, Streethawk is pop music completely bereft of cliché, both musically and lyrically. Considering how much pop music seems to be built around trying to emulate a practically unattainable ideal, it makes perfect sense that Streethawk would initially seem distant and strange. But once you've deciphered it-- and you will-- you'll find Streethawk to be a distinctive, diverse, highly enjoyable record.
Now that I've used the word "diverse," you probably want to hear about the songs. Do not worry, friend. That can be arranged. Generally speaking, Streethawk breaks down into three varieties of song: the rockers, the acoustic numbers, and "other." "The Sublimation Hour," the best of the first group, never drifts far from a state of perpetual crescendo. Propelled by Stephen Wood's understated lead guitar and Jason Zumpano's well-placed piano flourishes, the track proves to be the album's most accessible track, as well as one of its best. "The Crossover" uses similar methods to a less dramatic extent, replacing the explosiveness of "The Sublimation Hour" with a playful swagger.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are "Beggars Might Ride," "Virgin with a Memory," and "Helena," a trio of subtle, nylon guitar-driven quasi-ballads that showcase the more whimsical side of Destroyer. But keep in mind, friend, that these are far from traditional acoustic numbers. Syllables pop in and out of places they don't belong, instrumentation changes without notice, and chords slither back and forth in combinations it's quite possible you've never heard before in a similar musical context.
And then there are the others. Mmm... others. "The Bad Arts," Streethawk's epic track, goes from a strummed uptempo acoustic number to a vaguely funky drum- and bass-driven rock song to a completely fucking beautiful meditation on reverb-soaked guitars, pounding drums, and Bejar's ethereal vocals. The song's structure is totally warped and unpredictable-- the middle section of the song seems to build to a dramatic crescendo, but when the climax finally arrives, it takes the form of a two-second blast of unadulterated noise. This is followed by a subtle transition into the song's beautiful final section, in which Bejar recites the borrowed Joy Division lyric, "You've got the spirit/ Don't lose the feeling," as layers and layers of blissful guitar wash over him.
Ah yes, the lyrics. Dan Bejar's lyrics have always been one of his greatest assets-- on his City of Daughters album, he penned such memorable lines as "Girls are great/ When grated on my plate," and "Nothing does a body good/ Like another body." On Streethawk, Bejar's lyrics are as cryptic as ever, but still remain oddly compelling. There's an apparent element of fantasy to the lyrics, as evidenced by lines like, "Streethawk tempts the huntress, let the girls go insane/ As we lay down our weapons and sure enough, we are slain." But what's really important here is that Bejar never falls into the trappings of traditional lyric writing-- in "The Sublimation Hour," he throws in an supplementary "princess," where most singers would sing "baby"-- perfectly appropriate for a man who once sang of "the inextricable failure of popular music."
So, friend, what now? Are you intrigued? Are you confused? Are you scared? Don't be scared. Sure, the chords and melodies on Streethawk may at first strike you as unappealingly random. But after having Streethawk all but stuck in my discman for over a month, I am 100% convinced that nothing on the album is unplanned. It's engaging, it's surprising, and sometimes it's a bit disconcerting, but it all seems completely purposeful, even when the purpose itself isn't entirely clear. You have been given the oh-so-rare opportunity to enjoy the work of a songwriter who has found a distinctive voice that, while clearly drawing on elements of the past, is completely his own. And that, friend, is something worth holding on to. -Matt LeMay

Time Out New York

Underground pop musicians habitually dissect the Beatles, Beach Boys, Rolling Stones and even bubblegum. Less often do they aim their scalpels at David Bowie. Presumably, that's because the most fundamental chunks of Bowie's canon are built on grandness and glamness - attributes difficult to capture with a low recording budget and minuscule fan base. And if Bowie seemed geeky wearing his Ziggy Stardust getup while adressing fainting disciples from a glittering stage, just imagine how the act would fly at a neighborhood bar.
Destroyer's Daniel Bejar - who performs both solo and with backing musicians - may not smudge his face with white goo or relinquish many hours to hairdo maintenance, but when it's cooking, his music offers a tiny, titillating take on Ziggy Stardust and Hungry Dory. Streethawk: a seduction is Destroyer's fourth album since 1996, when the Vancouver-based musician began recording fuzz-drenched folk songs that garnered him a small following among listeners appreciative of his well-honed lyrics, if not his callow songs. As he's added players to the project (and also enlisted the Canadian rock-supergroup New Pornographers), Bejar has honed his tunefulness while retaining those lyrics. At times, his nasal voice suggests fellow basement troubadours like Syd Barrett or Jad Fair; but when the singer unleashes his whiny roar - and when his four backing Destroyer are let loose - he can nearly rival Bobby Conn for glam prince of the little heards.
His theatrical Ziggyisms climax in "The Sublimation Hour". The Sweeping piano and guitars are regal enough; Bejar's voice is something else, particularly when crying lines like "Ins't that what rock & roll is all about ?" in a maner fit for stadium. The bombast may recall Billy Corgan, but the singer's minor-league status brings a sense of absurdity that's difficult not to admire, even if one can't take it very seriously. Moreover, Bejar seems to have discovered that it is much easier to sound majestic when one's budget allows for a backing band, which may or may not prove problematic when the singer hits town in the one-man incarnation of DESTROYER this month, a kind stripped of his army. Jay Ruttenberg

- Les Inrockuptibles - Rock & Folk - Magic ! - Rock Sound - Compact - Pop News - Magic Box - Séfronia - Sur La Même Longueur D'Ondes - Soit Dit En Passant - Popingays -

>>Rock & Folk #417 - mai 02

En voilà, une bien curieuse chose...Pour chroniquer ce disque, le troisième d'un groupe fomenté par un Canadien - on suppose - originaire de Vancouver, on pourrait multiplier les superlatifs, lister les références, mettre le doigt puis toute la main sur les analogies. La bio qui accompagne cette parution pour le moins confidentielle se charge de cette basse besogne oubliant qu'en 2002, l'étalage nuit. De ce Daniel Bejar, on ne sait rien et qu'importe puisque sa musique dit tout. Il est indéniable, à l'écoute de "The Sublimation Hour", "English Music" ou "The Very Modern Dance", que ce drôle de type à la voix haut percée connaît ses early seventies sur le bout des ongles qu'il a peut être noirs. Sa musique rappelle bien sûr tous les parrains du glam mais aussi ses acteurs moins connus. En écoutant les chansons de Destroyer, on pense d'ailleurs tout particulièrement à celles de "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". "The Crossover" lorgne un peu vers Lou Reed, "Virgin With A Memory" ou "Helena" évoquent la naïveté provoquée de Syd Barrett, tandis que "Strike", "Streethawk I"ou "Streethawk II", en grande pompes vernies à semelle compensée, ont du Jobriath en elles et affichent une belle insolence de forme (une rupture et la guitare claire s'enfuit dans le delay). Mais même s'il fait également penser à Pavement ou The Fall, relayeurs à leur manière d'une tradition d'écriture très années 70, ce Bejar montre qu'il en a dans le collant et assume ses choix avec un foutu caractère: oser placer "The Bad Arts" en deuxième position d'un disque qu'on espère vendre à d'autres gens que sa propre famille en est bien la preuve." J. Soligny ***

>>Magic ! #59 - mars 02

>>Rock Sound

Le moins que l'on puisse dire, c'est que Dan Béjar, l'homme qui se cache derrière Destroyer, a le sens de l'humour. Nommer son groupe ainsi lorsqu'on a la voix d'un David Bowie adolescent et une culture musicale fortement appuyée sur Pavement, ça demande un certain recul sur soi-même, on en conviendra. C'est que le jeune homme, originaire de Vancouver, est une sommité de la scène indie rock de sa ville, et fait montre sur "Streethawk", son troisième album, d'un aplomb remarquable. Entre l'ambiance glam-pop de Velvet Goldmine ("The Sublimation Hour" n'aurait pas déparaillé sur la B.O. du film) et le terreau fertile du rock indé nord-américain (vraiment, ses compositions évoquent souvent du vieux Pavement), Bejar déroule son spleen sardonique au gré de chansons aigrelettes et inventives ("The Very Modern Dance") pour faire de "Streethawk: a seduction" un album d'une cohérence et d'une fraîcheur fort appréciables". P. Haour (3/5)

>>Compact

Glam minimaliste. Sous ce nom se cache le projet de Daniel Bejar des New Pornographers. On retrouve donc, tout comme chez ces derniers, une musique fortement pétrie d'influences "pop glam" mais l'option retenue est une production dépouillée où, schématiquement, le piano l'emporte sur la guitare saturée. Le résultat en est plus d'espace et plus d'ampleur donnée à des compositions souvent mémorables ("The Sublimation Hour", "The Very Modern Dance"). On retrouve, surtout dans les vocaux, un apprêt précieux, inhérent au genre, mais celui-ci s'exerce sans affectation ni grandiloquence. "Streethawk" prouve ainsi, s'il en était encore besoin, que "décadence" peut rimer à la fois avec "flamboyance" mais aussi, sans qu'on y trouve à redire, avec "nuance". CF - 5 - A ranger entre Bowie et Hawksley Workman

>>Pop News

" Daniel Bejar est plus connu pour ses réalisations avec le groupe The New Pornographers, " Streethawk : A Seduction " n'en est pas moins son quatrième album sous le nom de Destroyer. " (extrait de la biographie) Ces noms ne vous disent rien ? Euh… à moi non plus. Tout juste celui de Jason Zumpano, le pianiste au nom de patron de cirque de ce "faux" groupe, m'évoque-t-il quelques vagues souvenirs. Mais comme l'album sort en France chez Talitres records, jeune label bordelais aventureux et exigeant, on jette volontiers une oreille. >> La Suite...

>>La Magic Box

Sous le nom de Destroyer se cache en fait Daniel Bejar, le leader de The New Pornographers. Si vous ne le connaissiez pas, c’est normal ; le canadien n’a pas encore trouvé beaucoup d’échos chez nous. Ce quatrième album fait donc figure de séance de rattrapage. En résumé, la première impression qui vient à l’esprit est celle d’un Bowie qui aurait rencontré Pavement, le premier pour les compositions ( « the sublimation hour » tout droit sorti des années 70) et les seconds pour la production plus low fi. Même si à la guitare folk, panoplie habituelle du songwriter, Bejar adjoint un piano droit, très bastringue.
Et puis surtout il y a cette voix, nasillarde, originale, un timbre qui doit autant à Dylan (le premier « streethawk aurait pu être écrit par le grand Bob) qu’ à Billy Corgan ou à Brett Anderson. Vous imaginez le mélange ou en tout cas, vous essayez ! Cela donne une vrai personnalité à ce songwriting par ailleurs assez classique.
Que retenir ici ? « Virgin with a memory » à la beauté simple qui retrouve l’essence d’un folk américain de bonne facture. Le Canada n’est pas loin de l’ouest américain. La longue montée de « The bad arts » et sa guitare claire. L’efficacité de « the very modern dance » où la voix de Daniel se métamorphose en celle de celle de Brett de Suede et où le piano rappelle étrangement Supertramp. La fin de « Street hawk II », plate-forme de lancement idéale pour les étoiles. Quelques moments de magie dans un monde conventionnel. Denis Z

>>Séfronia

Il existe des disques si forts, si passionnants qu'ils réveillent la nuit et empêchent de dormir, un baromètre musical des grands événements de l'année. En 2001, Lift to Experience a produit son quota d'insomnies, idem pour Brando, petit groupe américain distribué par le distributeur bordelais Talitres (sacrément efficace).
En ce moment, c'est Destroyer qui s'acharne à relever les paupières. Passons sur le nom, Destroyer n'est PAS un groupe de hard graisseux et sur la modernité : "Streethawk : a seduction" aurait pu sortir en 1972 en même temps que le "Ziggy Stardust" de David Bowie (on aurait dit la même chose en 1999 du "The soft bulletin" des Flaming Lips). Mélange de glam et de psychédélisme spatial, mais monté en sauce lo-fi par Daniel Bejar, multi-instrumentiste à la voix rouillée qui dirige ce quatrième album de Destroyer, en compagnie d'activistes de l'underground rock canadien. Les titres sont tout en mouvement, commencent souvent tranquillement pour exploser en multiples réincarnations, ici un piano estampillé Bowie 70's ("Streethawk 1"), là un glam sexy, rock & roll sans pose ("The sublimation hour") ou une pop presque anglaise assaisonnée country, genre Suede au Texas ("The crossover").
Le groupe lorgne d'ailleurs ostensiblement vers les Iles Britanniques, "English music", ou ce "Virgin with a memory" (quel titre !), du Belle & Sebastian en mieux. Mais tous les rapprochements, aussi flatteurs soient-ils, s'arrêtent là car Destroyer écrase la concurrence, en proposant dix idées par morceau et des variations partout. Le groupe donne une impression d'absence de structure, de chansons uniquement faites de breaks, comme un foutoir très bien agencé. Ils sont aussi très forts pour les Bacdf (ballades au coin du feu), mais chantées dans une maison en ruine, pas de coeur à prendre, rien de romantique là-dedans. Difficile de sortir des MT parce que le disque est homogène et que tout est très bon. Néanmoins, "Beggars might ride" est géniale. Tout en mouvement, cette ballade pop explose cinq fois en deux minutes quarante-cinq avec un orgue feutré, terrible, et une batterie qui devient un instrument à part entière. De même, "Helena" est une Bacdf de folie. Le début est calme mais, quand arrive le refrain, tout s'envole, il est scandé et chante par lui-même ("...so throw the old furnitures in the fire..."), de la pure poésie dans l'écriture sur une mélodie imparable.
Cesser d'écouter ce disque provoque de graves états de manque, en abuser empêche de dormir : putain comment dire non à "Streethawk : a seduction" ?? (Olivier Santraine)

>>Sur la Même Longueur D'Ondes

Eblouissant songwriter canadien, Daniel Bejar, rôde du côté des premiers Bowie ("Life On Mars", "Ziggy Stardust"), guitare-voix en avant, et sait s'entourer d'un groupe à la fois discret et efficace pour soutenir ses imparables mélodies. Jamais lassant, toujours étonnant et entêtant, rock dans l'âme, voila un disque qui marque. S.B

>>Soit Dit En Passant

Récemment, j'ai eu l'occasion d'écouter avec peu de plaisir le dernier album des New Pornographers (Mass Romantic, 2001, Matador Records). Le leader de ce groupe américain, Daniel Bejar, mène un projet parallèle depuis quatre albums, Destroyer, qui mérite néanmoins toute votre attention. Le nom du groupe ne cache pas, malgré les apparences, une formation hardcore. Dès la première seconde, on pense tout de suite aux Violent Femmes, dont un des titres phares s'appelle " American Music ", alors que Streethawk : a seduction contient un sublime " English Music ". Un folk déroutant et imaginatif, porté par la voix de Bejar, écorchée à souhait, et dont l'intonation est proche de celle de Darren Hayman (Hefner). Les mélodies tranchées jouent avec un sens certain de la magie harmonique. Destroyer compte cinq membres, dont Scott Morgan, qui, étonnament, nous vient de Loscil, groupe minimaliste électronique signé sur Kranky. On retrouve donc logiquement des morceaux épurés qui émeuvent rapidement : que ce soit à la guitare ou au piano, les musiciens arrivent à bâtir un climat propice à l'épanouissement auditif. C'est sous la forme de ballades initiatiques (Beggars might ride, The Sublimation Hour) ou de chansons à la mélancolie contenue ( Streethawk II) que Destroyer se délivre d'un folk lo-fi n'ayant rien à envier aux premiers Pavement.

>>Popingays

Pouvons-nous dire que le glam rock renaît de ces cendres grâce à Daniel Bejar ? (plus connu chez "The New Pornographer") Destroyer fondé en 1995 à Vancouver sort son quatrième album à ce jour. Streethawk est sortie en 2001 officiellement. Talitres Records signe encore un très bon groupe et prouve que ce label français veut que du bon (Elk City, The Birdwatcher, Brando), Destroyer va enfin pouvoir être connu en France en 2002. Revenons en à cet album "Streehawk: A Seduction". En effet, vous êtes séduit dès les premiers accords de "Streehawk 1", entre les débuts de "Pavement" et un génialissime "Ziggy" de Bowie. Nous pourrions même comparer cet album à "The Phantom Of The Paradise" Béjar se transformant en Winslow (ne lui espérons pas la même fin tragique). C'est un condensé de Glam Rock/Lo-Fi comme sur "Beggars might ride", "The sublimation Hour" où la voix et le piano sont sublimes. La voix de Bejart est unique, elle impressionne, elle vous donne le frisson, vous transporte dans un monde fabriqué de toutes pièces. Bejart monte dans des intonations parfois inaccessibles puis le break que personne ne peut attendre et nous repartons sur une autre mélodie. Ensuite des morceaux toujours très bien arrangés, vous écouterez "Virgin with a memory" guitare et voix. Bejart peut aussi composer des morceaux ultra simple sans fioritures (peut-être même ces plus beaux!), d'ailleurs vous le saurez aussi sur "Helena". Il arrive à nous toucher au plus profond de notre intimité (s'en est même parfois gênant). Pour finir, ne passer pas à côté de cet artiste ça serait dommage de ne pas avoir ce disque dans sa discothèque. Vous y trouverez que du bon. Vous serez séduit.