Mic Check: Destroyer's Dan Bejar

DAN BEJAR
By ROBERT HAM

Dan Bejar’s longtime musical project, Destroyer, has gone through many permutations, from edgy, drip-dry pop to motorik showtunes written on MIDI synths. For 2011’s Kaputt, Bejar and company delved into the glossy production sheen of artists like Roxy Music and Everything But the Girl, garnering the best reviews of his career. But in keeping with his chameleonic nature as an artist, all bets are off as to what we will hear Monday at the Aladdin Theater.

Bejar: "We've taken older songs and completely ignored the recorded versions of them. We haven't really made them sound like Kaputt. There are elements of it, for sure. But, you know, it's popular to talk about '80s soft rock and saxophone and shit with that record. What gets ignored is the strain that has always run through Destroyer, especially since the late '90s. It's relaxed, wine-drunk, late-night '70s music—whether it's a Stones-y version of that or a Bowie-ish version of that. I just really make these things for myself and maybe at some point down the line, people will trust me that there are elements connecting each one."

SEE IT: Destroyer plays the Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., on Monday, June 4, with Sandro Perri. 8 pm. $18 advance, $20 day of show. All ages (minors must be accompanied by a parent).

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