A little over two years removed from Poison Season, Dan Bejar has lifted the curtain on his latest LP as Destroyer. Titled ken, the album is set to arrive October 20 through Merge.
Eleven tracks in length, ken was produced by Josh Wells and was recorded entirely at the band's studio space the Balloon Factory. A press release reveals that unlike Poison Season, ken was not recorded as a "band" record, though everyone in the group makes an appearance.
Bejar offered up the following statement on the LP:
Sometime last year, I discovered that the original name for "The Wild Ones" (one of the great English-language ballads of the last 100 years or so) was "Ken." I had an epiphany, I was physically struck by this information. In an attempt to hold on to this feeling, I decided to lift the original title of that song and use it for my own purposes. It's unclear to me what that purpose is, or what the connection is. I was not thinking about Suede when making this record. I was thinking about the last few years of the Thatcher era. Those were the years when music first really came at me like a sickness, I had it bad. Maybe "The Wild Ones" speaks to that feeling, probably why Suede made no sense in America. I think "ken" also means "to know."
ken is available for pre-order here. Bejar has also mapped out a fall tour of Europe and the UK, which you can find dates for below. Read through the tracklisting and tour itinerary to watch a lyric video for opener "Sky's Grey" below.
ken:
1. Sky's Grey
2. In the Morning
3. Tinseltown Swimming in Blood
4. Cover From the Sun
5. Saw You at the Hospital
6. A Light Travels Down the Catwalk
7. Rome
8. Sometimes In the World
9. Ivory Coast
10. Stay Lost
11. La Regle du Jeu
Tour dates:
11/12 Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel
11/13 Aarhus, DK - Voxhall
11/14 Oslo, NO - John Dee
11/15 Stockholm, SE - Fasching
11/16 Copenhagen, DN - Vega
11/17 Berlin, DE - Festsaal Kreuzberg
11/19 Dusseldorf, DE - New Fall Festival
11/21 Zurich, CH - Rote Fabrik
11/22 Montpellier, FR - Le Rockstore
11/23 San Sebastian, ES - Teatro Victoria Eugenia
11/24 Lisbon, PR - Mexefest
11/25 Madrid, ES - Teatro Barcelo
11/26 Valencia, ES - La Rambleta
11/27 Barcelona, ES - Sala Bikini
11/29 Lille, FR - L'Aeronef
11/30 Brighton, UK - Patterns
12/01 Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
12/03 Dublin, IE - Button Factory
12/05 Glasgow, UK - CCA (270)
12/06 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
12/07 London, UK - Scala
12/08 Paris, FR - Petit Bain
12/09 Amsterdam, NE - Paradiso Noord
12/10 Brussels, BE - Botanique Brussels
Eleven tracks in length, ken was produced by Josh Wells and was recorded entirely at the band's studio space the Balloon Factory. A press release reveals that unlike Poison Season, ken was not recorded as a "band" record, though everyone in the group makes an appearance.
Bejar offered up the following statement on the LP:
Sometime last year, I discovered that the original name for "The Wild Ones" (one of the great English-language ballads of the last 100 years or so) was "Ken." I had an epiphany, I was physically struck by this information. In an attempt to hold on to this feeling, I decided to lift the original title of that song and use it for my own purposes. It's unclear to me what that purpose is, or what the connection is. I was not thinking about Suede when making this record. I was thinking about the last few years of the Thatcher era. Those were the years when music first really came at me like a sickness, I had it bad. Maybe "The Wild Ones" speaks to that feeling, probably why Suede made no sense in America. I think "ken" also means "to know."
ken is available for pre-order here. Bejar has also mapped out a fall tour of Europe and the UK, which you can find dates for below. Read through the tracklisting and tour itinerary to watch a lyric video for opener "Sky's Grey" below.
ken:
1. Sky's Grey
2. In the Morning
3. Tinseltown Swimming in Blood
4. Cover From the Sun
5. Saw You at the Hospital
6. A Light Travels Down the Catwalk
7. Rome
8. Sometimes In the World
9. Ivory Coast
10. Stay Lost
11. La Regle du Jeu
Tour dates:
11/12 Hamburg, DE - Kampnagel
11/13 Aarhus, DK - Voxhall
11/14 Oslo, NO - John Dee
11/15 Stockholm, SE - Fasching
11/16 Copenhagen, DN - Vega
11/17 Berlin, DE - Festsaal Kreuzberg
11/19 Dusseldorf, DE - New Fall Festival
11/21 Zurich, CH - Rote Fabrik
11/22 Montpellier, FR - Le Rockstore
11/23 San Sebastian, ES - Teatro Victoria Eugenia
11/24 Lisbon, PR - Mexefest
11/25 Madrid, ES - Teatro Barcelo
11/26 Valencia, ES - La Rambleta
11/27 Barcelona, ES - Sala Bikini
11/29 Lille, FR - L'Aeronef
11/30 Brighton, UK - Patterns
12/01 Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club
12/03 Dublin, IE - Button Factory
12/05 Glasgow, UK - CCA (270)
12/06 Newcastle, UK - The Cluny
12/07 London, UK - Scala
12/08 Paris, FR - Petit Bain
12/09 Amsterdam, NE - Paradiso Noord
12/10 Brussels, BE - Botanique Brussels
