Poison Season
Merge Records
The indie pop sound that dominated the alternative waves of
the past decade has undoubtedly cooled off. Making way for artists with more of
an R&B flair to them, the scope of indie music has been broadening and
changing. Following and conforming to such trends has never been a concern for indie
rock collective Destroyer. At the ripe age of forty-two band leader Dan Bejar
is still making music on his own terms. In doing everything he can to avoid a
predictable sound, Bejar has proved once again that he can create a freshly enjoyable
new project. “Poison Season” comes at a time 4 years removed from the group’s
most successful work to date, “Kaputt”, which is a bit of a moot point due to
the challenge of comparing Destroyer’s work. Like all Bejar releases, “Poison
Season” comes with numerous talking points that differentiate itself from previous
releases.
From the opening moments of the album Bejar introduces the
listener to a world filled with a diverse array of lush and varied
instrumentation that remains unrelenting throughout the record. This album
feels about as maximal as an indie pop record can be to a gorgeous effect
rather than an overproduced one. “Dream Lover” quickly shows Bejar’s
willingness to let the horn section run wild as he laments about the harshness
of the sun rising. The enchanting string compositions coupled with big horn
support regularly take center stage, however, these pieces are also used in
subtle fashions as well. The violins and saxophones will blend into the
background of the mixing as well for a lingering reminder of their
presence. The album is also filled with
delicate piano pieces, wailing electric guitars, and lavish cello pieces. “Sun
in the Sky” finds Destroyer creating a slower groove while maintaining a
feeling of denseness. On “Poison Season”, Destroyer is constantly shifting
themselves everywhere in between these two dynamic ranges giving the album a
very diverse almost journey-like feeling with Dan Bejar’s narrative style
lyrics guiding the trip.
Lyrically Destroyer usually remains abstract, but that is
not the case at all on “Poison Season”. Bejar uses imagery, stark emotion, and relatable
experiences to provide the listener with more tangible word-play substance than
usual. Bejar’s tribulations of love, anxiety, and drug use are honest and decipherable
which cannot be said for all his projects. The album features three separate thematic
tracks entitled “Times Square” that bookend as well as divide the record
creating the feeling of a pseudo two act play. These short but expansive tracks
feel like a microcosm of the album itself which give the listener a piece of
foreshadowing to open the record and closure at its fulfillment.
The sheer denseness of this album alone makes for a
compelling listen. Varied instrumentation is used purposefully and effectively.
It does not feel like the musicians were playing improvisationally or even
loosely, rather every note is meticulously placed effectively as part of a much
greater sound. “Poison Season” is an exciting piece of chamber pop that has
come at a time where the genre is desperately looking for life. This is not
going to be a record that will cause any sort of genre revitalization or find
itself at the top of year-end lists the way “Kaputt” did in 2011, but “Poison
Season” is still worth of high praise as a record that successfully
accomplished what it set off to do. Dan Bejar said in a recent interview that
he is too old now to be drastically successful or cool. It seems that embracing
such an attitude has enabled him to create music that appears goal oriented and
remarkably effective on a grand scale.
8/10
-
TJ Kliebhan
8/31/2015
Stream "Poison Season" via Consequence of Sound here: http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/08/stream-destroyers-new-album-poison-season/
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