Trouble in Dreams

Trouble In Dreams
Studio album by Destroyer
Released March 18, 2008
Genre Indie rock, chamber pop
Length 52:59
Label Merge
Destroyer chronology

Destroyer's Rubies
(2006)		 Trouble In Dreams
(2008)		 Bay of Pigs
(2009)

Trouble In Dreams is the eighth LP from Destroyer, released on March 18, 2008 by Merge Records. "Foam Hands" was released as a promotional mp3 on December 4, 2007.

The album leaked in January of 2008.

Production

Bejar admits that when it came to recording the album there was initially a

scary lack of ideas coming into the record [...] The songs, in a performative way, weren’t really coming together. They all had really awesome parts, but as a band, it just kinda sounded like a bunch of noise, sometimes. So I kind of just decided to make a bit more of a studio record. That’s never really my intention, but that’s what happens. I kind of wanted to make things dreamier sounding then they had been of late.[1]

The album's sound was also influenced by the fact that Destroyer's piano player Ted Bois took it upon himself, as an alternative to keyboard and piano accompaniment, to create all string and synth arrangements for the songs. Bejar maintains "That stuff I didn’t even see coming. I didn’t even know it was going to happen until we got into the studio. A lot of the songs I just had no idea they were going to be so symphonic, at least half of them. And then the other half I just wanted to come off like thrashy rock songs." [1]

Lyrics

According to Bejar the lyrics on Trouble In Dreams touch on a number of recurring images and themes: “There are many themes running through it. Nostalgia; the beach; fascism; poets and poetry.” When asked about the many references to 'light' and 'darkness' that occur throughout the album, Bejar offered: "There is something about trying to see, though. That seems like a classic poetic concern. I think there’s, for the first time, kind of classic surrealist-style writing, simple, dream-like situations described in the songs.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Crawdaddy! Favorable link
Pitchfork Media 7.7/10 link
PopMatters 8/10 link
Billboard link
Tiny Mix Tapes link
Treble Favorable link
Twisted Ear link
Rolling Stone link

The album was released to generally favourable reviews, receiving an average score of 79/100 on Metacritic.[2] Rolling Stone magazine awarded the album 4/5, noting the band's debt to early-Seventies Glam rock – T.Rex and David Bowie in particular – and praising Bejar for "filter[ing] his cribbing through an indie rocker's sense of humor and a poet's love of language." [3] Pitchfork Media critic William Bowers awarded the album 7.7/10 amid mixed praise, contending that "the act's longevity had begun to work against the initial reasons for fan excitement – what were once singular eccentricities now have become anticipatable," but arguing that the "album succeeds despite itself," praising its performance and "spirit," and ultimately concluding that Bejar is an "untouchable wizard." [4]

Track listing

All songs by Destroyer.

  1. "Blue Flower/Blue Flame" – 3:24
  2. "Dark Leaves Form a Thread" – 3:36
  3. "The State" – 3:58
  4. "Foam Hands" – 3:50
  5. "My Favorite Year" – 6:07
  6. "Shooting Rockets (from the Desk of Night's Ape)" – 8:00
  7. "Introducing Angels" – 3:44
  8. "Rivers" – 5:14
  9. "Leopard of Honor" – 5:33
  10. "Plaza Trinidad" – 3:33
  11. "Libby's First Sunrise" – 6:00

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Tedder, Michael. "Q&A with Destroyer". Self-Titled Daily.
  2. ↑ "Trouble In Dreams metascore". Metacritic.
  3. ↑ Hermes, Will. "Trouble In Dreams review". Rolling Stone Magazine.
  4. ↑ Bowers, William. "Trouble In Dreams review". Pitchfork Media.

External links