On November 2, Destroyer will release the limited-edition 12-inch “Archer on the Beach” b/w “Grief Point.” This release is inspired by the music of Kranky recording artists Tim Hecker and Loscil and achieved through their full collaboration.

Destroyer mastermind Dan Bejar says, “The reason why this has to be seen as a collaboration, rather than strictly a Destroyer release, is that, for the first time, I’m not responsible for any of the music contained on this EP aside from the vocals, the general chord progression of ‘Archer on the Beach,’ and maybe a couple of the sound effects.”

“Archer on the Beach” is a meditation on the need to grapple with the 20th century in one’s own special way and with style, this time through singing quietly, through repetition, and through leaving lots of space between words, as well as finally learning to love crowds and nature.

“Grief Point” is the first recording Bejar made after deciding never to record again. It is a one-time exploration of the self-explanatory world, recorded in an office and on the street. Inspired by the writings of Michael Herr and the production design of Dean Tavoularis, the words occasionally obsess over the need to make certain things that don’t need to be made, while the music—written, played, and produced in its entirety by Loscil, aka Scott Morgan—tackles wholly separate issues. “Grief Point” was, at one point, the working title of a song called “Bay of Pigs.”

The artists’ intentions can best be illuminated by this fragment of email correspondence from Bejar to Hecker: “Shit, just give it that Michael Mann-meets-Thomas Mann sound that you do!”

The “Archer on the Beach” b/w “Grief Point” 12-inch will be limited to an edition of 1,000 copies that include a digital download coupon. Pre-order your copy now in the Merge store!

On April 20, we will reissue Destroyer’s City of Daughters and Thief on CD and Streethawk: A Seduction on CD and LP. All three releases have been remastered and the CDs will feature shiny new packaging.

In the hallowed Destroyer discography, the early trinity of City of Daughters / Thief / Streethawk: A Seduction holds an important place; not only does it document Dan Bejar’s evolution from lo-fi bedroom tyro to bona fide master of the rock album, it also contains a massive percentage of superlative Destroyer “classics.” 1998’s City of Daughters features some of the first steps out of the demo-tapey experimentation of earlier recordings, with songs like “Comments on the World as Will” refining the sound of that stripped-down earlier work, and the seminal “No Cease Fires!” offering us the first taste of just what a full-band Destroyer might conjure. 2000’s Thief naturally went further down that road, and from the opening strums of “The Temple” to the arty quirk of “Queen of Languages” to the gentle, jagged comedown of the title track, it soon became clear that Dan Bejar was master of a singular songcraft—and one who was only just getting started, because the following year brought us Streethawk: A Seduction. And every last inch—and we don’t mean this hyperbolically: EVERY. LAST. INCH.—of Streethawk is a true classic.

City of Daughters, Thief, and Streethawk: A Seduction are available now for preview and pre-order in the Merge store. Pre-order all three of these releases on CD in the Merge store for a special “bundle” price of $29.98 until release date. All pre-orders will ship to arrive on or around the April 20 release date.