Kaputt is in stores on CD, double-LP, and digital download now!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kaputt is available on CD, double-LP, and digital download in the Merge store.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Polaris Music Prize gala will be held Monday, September 19, at Toronto’s Masonic Temple and will feature live performances by this year’s Short List nominees. It will be webcast live on MuchMusic.com and broadcast on MuchMusic on Saturday, September 24, at 10 p.m. and midnight EST. The gala will also air on MusiquePlus at a date and time to be announced.

Previous Polaris winners have been Final Fantasy, Patrick Watson, Caribou, Fucked Up, and Karkwa.

The Suburbs Deluxe Edition CD+DVD is in stores on August 2 and available for pre-order from Merge now. Destroyer will play the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, IL on Saturday, July 16.

You can now listen to the 8-piece Destroyer band play live on KEXP Seattle! Destroyer is currently touring the west coast, making their way east towards Webster Hall in NYC!

Tracks:
Certain Things You Ought To Know
Downtown
Painter In Your Pocket
Song For America

Destroyer on Tour:
03-22 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
03-23 Tucson, AZ Club Congress
03-25 Austin, TX The Mohawk
03-26 Dallas, TX The Loft
03-27 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingerz Rock ‘N’ Roll Chicken Shack
03-28 St. Louis, MO The Luminary Center for the Arts
03-29 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03-30 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot
03-31 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
04-01 Montreal, QC Le Cabaret du Mile End
04-02 Cambridge, MA Middle East Downstairs
04-03 New York, NY Webster Hall
04-04 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
04-05 Washington, DC Black Cat
04-06 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
04-07 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
04-08 Atlanta, GA The Earl
04-09 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
04-11 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
04-12 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Centre
04-13 Winnipeg, MB West End Cultural Centre
04-15 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
04-16 Calgary, AB #1 Royal Canadian Legion

Destroyer will hit the road beginning March 17 in Vancouver and wind their way across the US and Canada finishing up April 16 in Calgary. Don’t miss them!

Destroyer on tour:
All dates with The War on Drugs
Mar 17 Vancouver BC – The Commodore Ballroom
Mar 18 Seattle WA – The Crocodile
Mar 19 Portland OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Mar 21 San Francisco CA – Great American Music Hall
Mar 22 Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
Mar 23 Tucson AZ – Club Congress
Mar 25 Austin TX – The Mohawk
Mar 26 Dallas TX – The Loft
Mar 27 Little Rock AR – Sticky Fingers Chicken Shack
Mar 28 St Louis MO – The Luminary Center for the Arts
Mar 29 Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall
Mar 30 Pontiac MI – The Pike Room at the Crofoot
Mar 31 Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
Apr 01 Montreal QC – La Cabaret du Mile End
Apr 02 Cambridge MA – Middle East Downstairs
Apr 03 New York NY – Webster Hall
Apr 04 Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
Apr 05 Washington DC – Black Cat
Apr 06 Asheville NC – Grey Eagle
Apr 07 Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle
Apr 08 Atlanta GA – The Earl
Apr 09 Nashville TN – Mercy Lounge
Apr 11 Madison WI – High Noon Saloon
Apr 12 Minneapolis MN – Cedar Cultural Centre
Apr 13 Winnipeg MB – West End Cultural Center
Apr 15 Edmonton AB – Starlite Room
Apr 16 Calgary AB – #1 Royal Canadian Legion

The album will be presented on double-LP and features 20 minutes of music exclusive to the vinyl release. The vinyl version also includes a download of the whole album including the bonus music. The vinyl artwork is presented in a gatefold sleeve with lyrics printed in the fold. The cover photo completes the recent trio of iconic Destroyer cover images taken by band member, Ted Bois.

Pre-order Kaputt on dbl-LP or CD now in the Merge store. Archer on the Beach and Bay of Pigs are now out-of-print on LP, but the tracks are available for digital download in the Merge store, as well.

Stream Kaputt in its entirety at HypeMachine, and don’t miss the 8-piece Destroyer band on tour this spring!

“Dan Bejar’s excellent Malaparte-nodding, electro jazz-tinged ninth Destroyer album’s a smooth one.” ~ Stereogum

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pre-order Kaputt on CD and dbl-LP in the Merge store.

Pitchfork premiered the video for the title track “Kaputt.” Featuring flying whales, desert ladies, and a geeky teenager, the “Kaputt” video will delight and confuse you. Watch it now!

Pre-order Kaputt now on CD and dbl-LP in the Merge store.

Destroyer on tour:
All dates with The War on Drugs
Mar 17 Vancouver BC – The Commodore Ballroom
Mar 18 Seattle WA – The Crocodile
Mar 19 Portland OR – Doug Fir Lounge
Mar 21 San Francisco CA – Great American Music Hall
Mar 22 Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
Mar 23 Tucson AZ – Club Congress
Mar 25 Austin TX – The Mohawk
Mar 26 Dallas TX – The Loft
Mar 27 Little Rock AR – Sticky Fingers Chicken Shack
Mar 28 St Louis MO – The Luminary Center for the Arts
Mar 29 Chicago IL – Lincoln Hall
Mar 30 Pontiac MI – The Pike Room at the Crofoot
Mar 31 Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
Apr 01 Montreal QC – La Cabaret du Mile End
Apr 02 Cambridge MA – Middle East Downstairs
Apr 03 New York NY – Webster Hall
Apr 04 Philadelphia PA – First Unitarian Church
Apr 05 Washington DC – Black Cat
Apr 06 Asheville NC – Grey Eagle
Apr 07 Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle
Apr 08 Atlanta GA – The Earl
Apr 09 Nashville TN – Mercy Lounge
Apr 11 Madison WI – High Noon Saloon
Apr 12 Minneapolis MN – Cedar Cultural Centre
Apr 13 Winnipeg MB – West End Cultural Center
Apr 15 Edmonton AB – Starlite Room
Apr 16 Calgary AB – #1 Royal Canadian Legion

Read the whole article at PasteMagazine.com.

Paste: How is Kaputt different from your previous efforts?
Dan Bejar: In almost every single respect. An easier question would be, “How is Kaputt similar to any of your previous releases?” to which I could say that the album Your Blues did dabble in some of the similar technology and process of building something out of nothing. But our intentions were much different on Kaputt. Your Blues has baroque leanings warring with the idea of severe space. It also has a fairly strict “no rhythm section” rule—pretty much the exact opposite of Kaputt.

Also, Nicolas Bragg plays lead guitar, as he has been doing for the last nine years in Destroyer. [He] has a pretty distinct style that you could maybe pick out from other Destroyer albums.

Everything else is completely different, starting with the songs themselves—with two or three exceptions, they are structureless. The singing, the instrumentation and the arrangements. And what they mean and what they intend to mean. And how it is to be listened to.

FROG EYES – PAUL’S TOMB: A TRIUMPH
Wyatt, Atzmon & Stephen – For The Ghosts Within
Bryan Ferry – Olympia
David Sylvian – Sleepwalkers
Kurt Vile – Square Shells EP
The War on Drugs – Future Weather EP
Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises
Moonface – Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-drums
Duffy and the Doubters – Scriptural Supplies
Donovan Quinn and the 13th Month – Your Wicked Man
The Clientele - Minotaur EP
Defektors – The Bottom of the City
Josephine Foster – Anda Jaleo
Bill Fay – Still Some Light

Spoon: Transference + “Written in Reverse” 7-inch

She & Him: Volume One + Volume Two (CD and LP)

Superchunk: Majesty Shredding + On the Mouth + No Pocky for Kitty (CD and LP)

Destroyer: reissues of City of Daughters + Thief + Streethawk: A Seduction (CD only)

Telekinesis: Parallel Seismic Conspiracies EP + Record Store Day 7-inch

The Love Language: Libraries + Record Store Day split 7-inch

Let’s Wrestle: In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s + Record Store Day split 7-inch

The Love Language/Let’s Wrestle + Telekinesis Record Store Day limited-edition 7-inches

Each full-length from Merge freshmen Telekinesis, Wye Oak, The Love Language, and Let’s Wrestle

All orders in the Merge store include free shipping and it’s not too late to use our Holiday Coupon and all orders over $150 get a free tote bag designed by The Clientele’s Alasdair Maclean!

The limited-edition Destroyer 12-inch “Archer on the Beach” is out-of-print in the Merge store, but you can now buy the songs via digital download!

Don’t miss out on Swim Remixes—Caribou’s answer to what happens when you put one of the year’s hottest dance records in the hands of some of the world’s best DJs! With reworks of some of Swim’s hottest cuts by Junior Boys, Fuck Buttons, Nite Jewel, DJ Koze, Walls, Gold Panda, Gavin Russom, and more, Swim Remixes contains over an hour-and-a-half of new, fresh takes on Caribou’s latest opus.

Let’s Wrestle bring us a tasty piece of next year’s sophomore record with the “Getting Rest”/“When I Was In Hospital” digital single. Be warned: these young Londoners are not to be missed.

Shout Out Louds’ Fall Hard EP expands upon Work’s catchy first single with non-album cuts “Fall Hard Pt. 2” and “Can’t Explain.”

Lou Barlow + the missingmen’s = Sentridoh III is Lou’s first recorded output with new backing band the missingmen. Described by the band as “an almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,” this mini-album breathes new, rocking life into Sebadoh and Sentridoh classics, Lou’s solo material, and even a haunting cover of the timeless Skip James song “I’m So Glad.”

Tracey Thorn followed up this year’s gorgeous Love and Its Opposite with a pair of digital EPs, Why Does the Wind? and Opposites, that offer up wildly creative remixes of some of the album’s most-loved songs. Why Does the Wind? pairs the album track of the same name with remixes by Morgan Geist, Michel Clies, and André Lodemann, along with a radio edit and dub version. As for the Opposites EP, Tracey herself probably says it best: “If the remixes for the last single ‘Why Does the Wind?’ were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.” Visionquest (“Swimming”), Walls (“Kentish Town”), and Blue Daisy (“Late in the Afternoon”) provide penetrating new takes presented alongside the originals.

Let’s also revisit Lambchop’s magnetic Live at XX Merge performance; Portastatic’s Make It Sound In Tune EP; digital reissues of Richard Buckner’s landmark albums Impasse, The Hill, and Bloomed; and The Ladybug Transistor’s fantastic Here Comes the Rain covers EP.

Our Holiday Coupon applies to digital releases, too, so download away!



click to make larger

“Archer on the Beach,” the latest limited-edition 12-inch from Destroyer, is now available exclusively from your local record store. Limited to 1000 copies, “Archer on the Beach” is a collaborative effort inspired by the music of Kranky recording artists Tim Hecker and Loscil.

The artwork features two beautiful images by Destroyer band member Ted Bois and is a perfect complement to last year’s “Bay of Pigs” 12-inch (now out-of-print) and the forthcoming full-length Destroyer masterpiece, Kaputt. The 12-inch includes a digital download coupon for both songs, and lyrics to “Archer on the Beach.”

Hurry to your local record store and get your “Archer on the Beach” 12-inch before they are gone!

This release is inspired by the music of Kranky recording artists Tim Hecker and Loscil and achieved through their full collaboration.

Preview “Archer on the Beach,” now streaming at Stereogum!

“‘Archer on the Beach’ is promising evidence that Bejar is, conceptually, continuing to do what he does best: destroying.” ~Pitchfork

Dan Bejar sent us some of the themes alluded to or avoided in the album Kaputt, in absolutely no linear order:

Kaputt by Malaparte, which Bejar has never read… Kara Walker, specifically the lyrics she contributed to the song “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker”… Chinatown, the neighborhood bordering on Bejar’s… Baby blue eyes… 80s Miles Davis… 90s Gil Evans… Last Tango in Paris… Nic Bragg, who played lead guitar on every song, again… Fretless bass… The hopelessness of the future of music… The pointlessness of writing songs for today… V-Drums… The superiority of poetry and plays… And what’s to become of film?… The Cocaine Addict… American Communism… Downtown, the neighborhood bordering on Bejar’s… The LinnDrum… Avalon and, more specifically, Boys and Girls… The devastated mind of JC/DC, who recorded, produced and mixed this record from fall of 2008 to spring of 2010… The back-up vocals of certain Roy Ayers and Long John Baldry tours… Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence…

Track listing:
1. Chinatown
2. Blue Eyes
3. Savage Night at the Opera
4. Suicide Demo for Kara Walker
5. Poor in Love
6. Kaputt
7. Downtown
8. Song for America
9. Bay Of Pigs (Detail)

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!

As always, you can find new albums from all of these artists and more in our handy Merge store.

Free Merge 2010 digital sampler track listing:
1. Radar Brothers – Horses Warriors (from The Illustrated Garden)
2. Let’s Wrestle – I Won’t Lie to You (from In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s)
3. Destroyer – The Very Modern Dance (from Streethawk: A Seduction)
4. Shout Out Louds – Fall Hard (from Work)
5. Spoon – Written in Reverse (from Transference)
6. Lou Barlow – Don’t Apologize (from Goodnight Unknown)
7. She & Him – Thieves (from Volume Two)
8. Superchunk – Learned to Surf (from Leaves in the Gutter)
9. Alec Bathgate – Glide (from Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox)
10. The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are (from Bonfires on the Heath)
11. Caribou – Odessa (from Swim)
12. The Clean – In the Dreamlife U Need a Rubber Soul (from Mister Pop)
13. Wye Oak – I Hope You Die (from My Neighbor / My Creator)
14. Lambchop – Give It (from Live at XX Merge)

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.

Wordless Music is a series of performances devoted to the idea that the sound worlds of classical and contemporary instrumental music — in genres such as indie rock and electronica — share more in common than conventional thinking might suggest. Their goal is to bring audiences together, and to introduce listeners from both worlds to composers that they might otherwise not encounter, for a completely new concert experience.

Wordless Music
September 12, 2009
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
2960 Broadway (at 116th Street)

DESTROYER
LOSCIL
JACK QUARTET

Doors open at 7:30pm, show at 8pm. Tickets on sale via the Miller Theatre box office and Web site.

At 13:37, “Bay of Pigs” is the longest of Destroyer songs. It is also Destroyer’s first foray into the ambient disco market. The song was recorded throughout the winter of 2009 with longtime Destroyer collaborators/members John Collins and David Carswell at their JCDC Studio in downtown Vancouver. “Bay of Pigs” is an account of the 1961 American invasion of Cuba, often referred to as The Bay Of Pigs.

The music for “Ravers” was played entirely on analogue synthesizer, and recorded, by Ted Bois (Destroyer, Pink Mountaintops) in April 2009. It explores some of the more meditative realms of 20th Century classical composition. The song itself is a casual rumination on parties, political parties, madness and suffering (for one’s art).

Listen now exclusively at Stereogum.com!

Side A:
Bay Of Pigs – 13:37
Side B:
Ravers – 7:50

Destroyer on Tour!
08.02.09 Sackville, NB Sackville United Church
10.02.09 Montreal, QC Ukrainian Federation
10.03.09 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern

all photos by Brian Vetter

At 13:37, “Bay of Pigs” is the longest of Destroyer songs. It is also Destroyer’s first foray into the ambient disco market. The song was recorded throughout the winter of 2009 with longtime Destroyer collaborators/members John Collins and David Carswell at their JCDC Studio in downtown Vancouver. “Bay of Pigs” is an account of the 1961 American invasion of Cuba, often referred to as The Bay Of Pigs.

The music for “Ravers” was played entirely on analogue synthesizer, and recorded, by Ted Bois (Destroyer, Pink Mountaintops) in April 2009. It explores some of the more meditative realms of 20th Century classical composition. The song itself is a casual rumination on parties, political parties, madness and suffering (for one’s art).

Side A:
Bay Of Pigs – 13:37
Side B:
Ravers – 7:50

Dan Bejar solo shows continue in July after XX Merge!
05.17.2009 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
07.27.2009 Atlanta, GA The Earl
07.28.2009 Washington, DC Black Cat
07.30.2009 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
07.31.2009 Boston, MA Paradise
08.02.2009 Sackville, NB Canada Sackville United Church

Destroyer & The Treacherous Fops – The Music Lovers (mp3): Live @ Cats Cradle, Carrboro, NC, July 31, 2004 at the Merge 15th Anniversary Festival.

This cut is culled from the one and only performance to date by The Treacherous Fops–comprised of Mac McCaughan on guitar, Spott on trumpet, Paul Finn on keys, Paul Cardillo on bass, and the incomparable Lee Waters manning the skins. Destroyer is Mr. Dan Bejar.

The Broken West – Brass Ring (mp3): Live at the Great Scott, Allston, MA, March 3, 2007. Special thanks to Bradley’s Almanac, one of the best blogs in Blogland, for the Broken West show!

For non-digital, real life shows near you, check out the Merge Tour Dates.

Anyone with rare/live recordings (especially lossless) of any Merge bands and a disposition towards sharing, please send a message to:

wilson
wilson (at) mergerecords (dot) com

Get your copies of all Destroyer’s releases here and start your own arguments here.

Portastatic at the Other Music Party:

Stock up on Portastatic records here.

Wye Oak play in a Yaris! Pre-order If Children here.

Shout Out Louds played the NPR party (amongst many others!) Full concert for download here. Purchase Our Ill Wills here.

She & Him played a few songs for the KGSR morning show. Download live versions of “Change is Hard” and “You Really Got a Hold on Me”. Purchase Volume One here.

Destroyer at the Stereogum party! More great photos here! Get your copy of Destroyer’s newly released record Trouble in Dreams here.

Let us know if you see more SXSW reports that we may have missed! See ya next year, Austin!

Also out:
Destroyer – Trouble In Dreams

She & Him – Volume One

Buy them from our new Digital Store or your local record shops!

The New Pornographers video for “Myriad Harbor” features Dan Bejar and lots and lots of hair! We are in love.

Video courtesty of Gorilla vs. Bear

Frog Eyes – Tears Of The Valedictorian
Cass McCombs – Dropping The Writ
Bill Callahan – Woke On A Waleheart
Robert Wyatt – Comicopera
Robert Pollard – Coast to Coast Carpet of Love
The Clientele – God Save The Clientele
Babyshambles – Shotter’s Nation
Plush – Take A Chance (video); I Sing Silence (rough mix)
Devon Williams – A Truce/Elevator (7″)
Sunset Rubdown – Random Spirit Lover

via You Ain’t No Picasso

SPOON plays the 9:30 Club in DC tonight! For those of you not lucky enough to make it, the kind folks at NPR have scheduled a LIVE BROADCAST tonight! An interview with the band will air at 7:30, and the show goes live at 8pm! Tune in tonight for the entire concert!

If you’d rather park yourself in front of the TV tonight, Reaper will feature songs from two Merge artists: Spoon’s “The Underdog” and Imperial Teen‘s “Shim Sham”!

Another momentous TV event: SPOON on SNL re-airs THIS Saturday, October 27!

Spoon also visited KCMP recently. Click the link to hear the session!

They also gave a little shout out to Destroyer at their Boston show..

“Foam Hands”

Fridays are the best because you get to reflect on the crazy things that have happened that week. Like this week, for instance! I thought I was going to be left on the side of the road on the way to a lunch meeting, received a free plane ticket for being a “good consumer,” and then I talked to a non-believer. I’m still thinking about a funny way to write about this, but let’s just say our bands need more Myspace friends. If you’d like to help out a good cause, please go visit their pages and add them. They deserve it, you know? Here are a few quick links:
Spoon, Destroyer, White Whale, Camera Obscura, The Rosebuds, Arcade Fire, and M. Ward.

We appreciate your support.
Lindsey K.