The Colonial Vibe Of Destroyer’s ‘Kaputt’

Alex Balk
The Awl
Published in
1 min readJan 25, 2011

“For the most part, I have no idea what the lyrics of Kaputt pertain to, except for ‘Suicide Demo For Kara Walker.’ Which is odd, because the writing seems really specific compared to all the other Destroyer albums, whose lyrics I happen to understand very well and can explain 110 percent and always have been able to. That being said, there is a colonial sound to the record, which maybe is playing off the lyrics. I was thinking a lot about dissolute officers and envoys with cushy posts, strung out on opium. By ‘a lot,’ I mean I thought about that more than once, even if just as an audio reference. That’s what Roxy Music’s Avalon sounds like to me.”
— Dan Bejar discusses Destroyer’s new record, which, oh my God you guys, is so so good. Don’t let descriptions like “ambient contemporary” put you off; by the third time you listen to this thing all the way through you won’t want to listen to anything else.

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