Destroyer - Notorious Lightning and Other Works (Merge, 2005)

Destroyer
Notorious Lightning and Other Works
Merge
2005

Rating: 9 sketchy storms out of 10

Although this album is titled as a Destroyer release, in reality this album is Dan Bejar (aka Destroyer) with the group Frog Eyes playing the role of backing band. The product of this indie rock marriage might possibly be much better than either of the original bands involved. Well, definitely better than Frog Eyes, and on par with some of Destroyer's best work. I've never been a huge Frog Eyes fan, but their work here with Bejar makes me want to revisit their catalog and give them a second chance. I've nearly burned a hole in my copy of Detroyer's “Streethawk: A Seduction”, but this release ranks as a close second on my list of all-time best Destroyer albums.

All six of these tracks were previously available on his previous album “Your Blues”, but in a much different form - completely recorded by Bejar, nearly all of the instrumentation done via keyboards and synths, mostly delicate bedroom glam-pop. But here, starting with the opening track “Notorious Lightning” is an organic, sprawling, beautiful mess - still containing the hooks and basic structure of the original, but so much more. The full, live band sound really fleshes out Bejar’s songs much better than the original synth instrumentation. This record is easily an early contender for one of the best records of the year, and it just gets better every time I listen to it.