Kaputt
Destroyer
Kaputt
I feel quite strange while listening to "Chinatown," the opening track on Dan "Destroyer" Bejar's new record, Kaputt. I feel … I feel like I should be watching Top Gun in a non-ironic way and talking about Ronald Reagan in between trips to the video arcade. As the song plays on I smell Aqua Net hairspray and taste Pop Tarts. My mustache grows while the blues and whites in my jeans split time and roll tight. You get it - the 1980s. Not the Jim Jarmusch and Paul Westerberg 1980s, but the other stuff - the cheesy stuff.
And not just the 1980s in a hip, fantasy-like Adventureland sort of way, but a true white suit, Alf doll, Camaro and cheese-on-everything sort of way. In this age of nostalgia aping where we use the best recording technology ever to make music that sounds authentically old and dated, Bejar may be the new King. Kaputt sounds so much like a hip, artsy take on 1980s smooth and sexy cheese that he must be commended. Even more so, the record's maker should be applauded for his straightforward humor and pop craft ability.
Once you get past the novelty some solid and memorable songs appear. Bejar, known both as a member of The New Pornographers and a theater-loving rocker with a prolific past, is simply adding new elements to his sound. Humor, cheesy keyboards, some social commentary, saxophones and plenty of flutes that sound quite a bit like dolphins, to name just a few of the new elements at play, are the things that make this surprisingly listenable record tick along. The end result is a very cohesive and focused listen that always sticks to its tongue-in-cheek guns. (To a fault, even? Maybe. Well see how it ages.)
So why and how does this whole dolphins and horns thing work? Easy; it works because Bejar has always been a very dramatic singer and writer, and here, more than ever, he's not holding back, singing lines like "I write poetry for myself" and "longings, longings / all in vain / just ask vanity, abandoned out in the rain." The over-the-top elements all come together to create a dramatic period piece of a record that hints at shoegaze, feels like something of a bedroom soundtrack, and should instantly appeal to fans of M83, Twin Shadow and, I don't know … Kate Bush?
All that said, to me, Kaputt is kind of a joke record. Sure, it can be an enjoyable listen, but the record is something of an in-joke for hip ears who love irony and nostalgia. And, damn, if I had to describe Kaputt in two words, those words would be the ones I'd use - ironic and nostalgic. So is this something I'll listen to often? Probably not. It's masterful in its way, but with albums like Destroyer's Rubies out there in the world, I don't much see the point of obsession over a joke, no matter how good it may be.
One final thought: while listening to Kaputt I can't help but wonder if Dan Bejar is sitting in a boat somewhere in Canada, fishing and drinking and laughing. Laughing at all the people going seriously batty for his new record. His new record that, I'm guessing, is something of a prank. Well made songs with a certain appeal, sure … but, c'mon, super cheesy at all times. Quite the paradox. 7/10
Written by G. William Locke
