Kaputt (album)
Kaputt | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Destroyer | ||||
Released | January 25, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2008–10 | |||
Studio | JC/DC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia | |||
Genre | Soft rock,[1][2][3] smooth jazz,[2] pop,[2] electropop,[4] sophisti-pop[5] | |||
Length |
50:08 (US CD / digital) 70:06 (European CD / vinyl) | |||
Label | Merge, Dead Oceans | |||
Producer | JC/DC (John Collins and David Carswell) | |||
Destroyer chronology | ||||
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Kaputt is the ninth album by Canadian band Destroyer. It was released on January 25, 2011 by Merge Records and Dead Oceans Records.[6] The album was leaked towards the end of 2010.[7][8] The vinyl edition of the album features bonus material on side three written largely by frequent Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois. This material is also included in the European CD version of the album credited as 'The Laziest River'.
The album was named as a shortlisted (one of 10) nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize award.
Reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 84/100[9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
The A.V. Club | A−[3] |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[1] |
The Guardian | [11] |
Los Angeles Times | [12] |
MSN Music | B+[13] |
NME | 8/10[14] |
Pitchfork | 8.8/10[2] |
Rolling Stone | [15] |
Spin | 7/10[4] |
Kaputt received widespread acclaim from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 38 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[9] In a five-star review of the album for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis was complimentary of the album's stylistic similarities and lyrical allusions to 1980s popular culture, writing that Kaputt "swerves accusations of archness or kitsch" because of the strength of its songs.[11] Petridis further stated that the album "feels like an open love letter to a vanished pop era: it's unique and warm and beautiful, as love letters are supposed to be."[11] Laura Snapes of NME called it Daniel Bejar's "finest work to date, and excessive, but irresistibly so."[14]
Pitchfork placed Kaputt second on their list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011.[16] It also placed on year-end best album lists from Tiny Mix Tapes (number 9),[17] Uncut (number 31),[18] and Mojo (number 41), among others.[19] In August 2014, Kaputt was placed as number 16 on a list published by Pitchfork of the The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014).[20]
Track listing
CD and digital version
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Chinatown" | 3:49 |
2. | "Blue Eyes" | 4:07 |
3. | "Savage Night at the Opera" | 4:24 |
4. | "Suicide Demo for Kara Walker" | 8:26 |
5. | "Poor in Love" | 3:26 |
6. | "Kaputt" | 6:18 |
7. | "Downtown" | 3:52 |
8. | "Song for America" | 4:29 |
9. | "Bay of Pigs (Detail)" | 11:19 |
The European CD version contains "The Laziest River" as a single track after "Song for America".
Vinyl version
Side one | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Chinatown" | 3:49 |
2. | "Blue Eyes" | 4:07 |
3. | "Savage Night at the Opera" | 4:24 |
4. | "Suicide Demo for Kara Walker" | 8:26 |
Side two | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Poor in Love" | 3:26 |
2. | "Kaputt" | 6:18 |
3. | "Downtown" | 3:52 |
4. | "Song for America" | 4:29 |
Side three: The Laziest River | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Prelude (Estuary)" | 4:17 |
2. | "Nagel's Marimba" | 4:28 |
3. | "The Laziest River" | 7:04 |
4. | "Palm Springs Life" | 0:30 |
5. | "Landing on Water" | 3:39 |
Side four | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Bay of Pigs (Detail)" | 11:18 |
Personnel
The following people contributed to Kaputt:[21]
Destroyer
- Daniel Bejar – composition, musician
- Ted Bois – musician, cover photography
- Pete Bourne – musician
- Nicolas Bragg – musician
- John Collins – musician, engineering, production
- Joseph Shabason – musician
Additional personnel
- Cady Bean-Smith – design
- David Carswell – production
- J.P. Carter – trumpet
- Sibel Thrasher – musician
- Kara Walker – composition
References
- 1 2 Petrusich, Amanda (January 19, 2011). "Kaputt". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 Richardson, Mark (January 24, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- 1 2 Hyden, Steven (January 25, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- 1 2 Menconi, David (January 25, 2011). "Destroyer, ‘Kaputt’ (Merge)". Spin. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
- ↑ Terich, Jeff; Blyweiss, Adam; Bossenger, A. T.; Prickett, Sam (24 April 2014). "10 Essential Sophisti-pop albums". Treblezine. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ↑ "Destroyer - Kaputt". www.mergerecords.com.
- ↑ "Frontier Psychiatrist – daily online arts and culture journal covering music, books, film, travel". frontpsych.com.
- ↑ "Kaputt by Destroyer leaked... and I'm a believer!". tsururadio.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Kaputt by Destroyer". Metacritic. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
- ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Kaputt – Destroyer". AllMusic. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- 1 2 3 Petridis, Alexis (December 22, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt – review". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ↑ Wappler, Margaret (January 25, 2011). "Album review: Destroyer's 'Kaputt'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (January 17, 2012). "Mekons/Destroyer". MSN Music. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- 1 2 Snapes, Laura (June 14, 2011). "Album Review: Destroyer – 'Kaputt'". NME. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ↑ Dolan, Jon (January 25, 2011). "Kaputt". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ↑ "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork. December 15, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
- ↑ "2011: Favorite Albums of 2011". Tiny Mix Tapes. December 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Uncut's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. November 29, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
- ↑ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ↑ "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- ↑ "Kaputt – Destroyer > Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2015.