10 best albums of 2008 that you have probably haven’t heard (Part 4)
April 20th, 2009Trouble in Dreams by Destroyer
While many of the other albums on this list are, in my opinion, among the best albums released in 2008, “Trouble in Dreams” is likely the only one that would appear on the list of my favorite albums of all time. As a few of you already know, I can talk about Destroyer — and this album specifically — for hours, so I’ll try to keep this pretty brief (at least shorter than my earlier, lengthy Adventureland review). For those of you (un)fortunate enough not to already know this — and, I’d imagine, for the vast majority of people, in general — Destroyer is the work of Dan Bejar, who more people are likely to know as one of the singers in the always-enjoyable The New Pornographers.
I made a promise to myself that I would never recommend Destroyer to any of my friends, as I’ve yet to meet anyone who loves Destroyer as much as I do (in fact, most of the people I know seem to barely tolerate it when I’m listening). But, since this isn’t a recommendation, I have no problem with telling you how fantastic Destroyer and “Trouble in Dreams” are. And in the interest of keeping this short, I’ll tell you that the four Destroyer albums before “Trouble in Dreams” (”Streethawk: A Seduction,” “This Night,” “Your Blues,” and “Destroyer’s Rubies”) are all amazing and drastically different albums, each of which is very effective at accomplishing its desired effect. With that in mind, I think that “Trouble in Dreams” is a masterpiece, and one of the best albums ever made.
Like most Destroyer albums, “Trouble in Dreams” evolves as you listen to the album over and over. Upon first listen, one or two songs stand out. On the third listen, four or five songs. By the fifth or so listen, I found myself astounded at how the album I was listening to was not the same album I’d listened to four previous times — every song has amazing moments (even short ones, that you find yourself eagerly awaiting on each listen), evoking varying emotional responses and blending together with the rest of album (that at first seemed so disconnected). The album is called “Trouble in Dreams,” and indeed the music and lyrics reflect a sort of dreamlike or spiritual mood, emphasized by the pervasive, rhythmic drumming that starts to stand out after the first few listens.
Growing up, I can remember listening to countless songs on the radio, cassette, or old records belonging to my parents, and creating, in my mind, what seemed like the most likely lyrics. Even though these were usually wrong, they held meaning to me, as they were part of my unique experience of each piece of music; this wasn’t because my lyrics were better (I’m pretty sure they rarely even made sense), but because those lyrics had grown to have some meaning to me. When I later discovered what the actual lyrics were (thanks, Internet), I usually felt disappointed, and my response to the music afterwards was (at least slightly) different for having this information. In contrast to this, Dan Bejar’s lyrics are always crystal clear, and there is no doubt as to what he is saying. However, as Bejar has said, the lyrics on “Trouble in Dreams” generally don’t mean anything, but are really just combinations of words intended to create a mood or evoke some response. And in this respect, they are very effective. Each listener will associate the lyrics differently in his or her mind, and be able to a create a completely unique experience for him/herself.
Immediate Catchiness: 1/5
Long-Term Playability: 6/5
Favorite Tracks: every track…