“What is very apparent is Destroyer have been getting down to some old Brian Eno solo LPs, especially stuff like Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Before and After Science.”
“What is very apparent is Destroyer have been getting down to some old Brian Eno solo LPs, especially stuff like Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Before and After Science.”
Destroyer – Trouble in Dreams
http://www.konkurrent.nl/ http://www.roughtraderecords.com/
A cracking release this and a wholly unexpected pleasure as well, as I have to admit the only reason I played this CD was the discovery that a gentleman called Rodney Graham plays the unusual combination of gong and potato on the track Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape).
What is very apparent is Destroyer have been getting down to some old Brian Eno solo LPs, especially stuff like Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy and Before and After Science. My Favourite Year takes an Eno-esque guitar run and builds up a tremendous rant against the world in general, aided by a Mo Tucker-style stomp and sweeping keyboards. And I’m afraid my comparisons don’t end with the Ambient One either. A Velvetsy sleaziness can be found throughout the record, and that’s very satisfying indeed, (check out The State or Foam Hands). In addition, the restless and not wholly healthy energy at work through Trouble in Dreams is really reminiscent of that other ‘70s proto-punk icon, Kid Strange: especially tracks like the opening track Blue Flower/Blue Flame or Shooting Rockets (From the Desk of Night’s Ape).
Other satisfying things are (New Pornographer) Daniel Bejar’s vocal delivery, which is pretty remarkable; very much like an out of work actor soliloquising wildly in front of a mirror. In fact the way some of the songs (such as Dark Leaves Form a Thread) are structured gives a feel of Suede in their prime, albeit without the same histrionics. This record inhabits a darker, and in some ways funnier place than anything Anderson’s lot came up with.
This is a crazy, wholly charming and wholly convincing piece of work. I seriously recommend it.
Words: Richard Foster