Destroyer

Ken // Merge

Dan Bejar has never delivered a clear theme to any album. His lyrics are always open to interpretation so one inevitably relies on the instrumentation to set the mood for each Destroyer record. Ken is Destroyer’s 13th studio album and Bejar has created a legacy in that one could make a college-level course in dissecting each record from this project. As wonderful as it would be to understand Bejar’s musings, sadly, that would cripple the allure of Destroyer. One thing that has always made this project so romantic is the questions without answers. On Ken, Bejar continues the tradition of making songs best served for individual analysis. Musically, the album takes on the cool adult contemporary sounds from Kaputt and Poison Season and progresses quietly into a more playful pop realm. Cautious use of synths and drum machines hint that Bejar is dipping his toe into a pool that could morph Destroyer into new territory. Ken is an expertly executed transitionary record, a refreshing take on an old project. It certainly has left the door open for Bejar to once again transform Destroyer’s sonic output and keep himself on the cutting edge of the hype-machine.