It’s been a long wait since Destroyer’s masterful, synth-disco album Kaputt (No. 3 on our Best Albums of 2011).  But at long last the wait is over with next month’s release of Poison Season (tracklist at bottom).  We’ve already heard the guitar-sax, Springsteen-esque-but-completely-Destroyer Dream Lover (listen at bottom), and now leader Dan Bejar has released a counter-point ballad entitled Girl In A Sling on Merge Records.  It’s a beauty that will destroy you and destruction never sounded this good.

Video director David Galloway has this to say about the video:

“Bejar sings a lot about cities and girls and injury, sometimes all at the same time. Sometimes they are the same thing, as surreal novelists would have us believe. Besides, people like to see Dan sing — which he doesn’t do a lot of in this video, but he does do a little bit. We wanted to make a video that dealt with central Destroyer themes: to some, Destroyer is a lech; to some, he is an arsonist; to some, he is a savior. To me, he is the consummate comedian, but he resists that role. So we decided to go the opposite way and make something sad, something tragic, something that fits the new record. The adage “comedy equals tragedy plus time” is attributed to Carol Burnett’s mum. Or it might have been Steve Allen. Either way, I always want Dan to do physical comedy, but he resists. He’s a natural, though. He’s the Pacific Northwest’s Buster Keaton, and I hope one day to share that with the world. One day. For now, though, there’s just this sadness. This poison season.”

In support, Destroyer will head out in September on a world tour.  Check the new songs below.

Poison Season Tracklist:
01. Times Square, Poison Season
02. Dream Lover
03. Forces From Above
04. Hell
05. The River
06. Girl in a Sling
07. Times Square
08. Archer on the Beach
09. Midnight Meet the Rain
10. Solace’s Bride
11. Bangkok
12. Sun in the Sky
13. Times Square, Poison Season II