Destroyer Reveals 'Poison Season,' Maps Out Tour

BY Gregory AdamsPublished May 21, 2015

Early on in his career as Destroyer, Dan Bejar told us all about "The Sublimation Hour." Now, he's revealed that his next LP, the first in four years, will focus on the Poison Season. An LP of the same name lands August 28 through Merge.

Though Bejar had issued his Five Spanish Songs EP in 2013, it's the first full-length Destroyer release since 2011's Kaputt. According to a press release, the Vancouver native's latest 13-song cycle is informed by everything from Hunky Dory-era David Bowie, to sax-blasting "street-rock," to the sophisti-pop sounds of Orange Juice and Prefab Sprout.

As you'll find via the tracklisting down below, the record is bookended with parts one and two of "Times Square, Poison Season," which the songwriter admitted was actually recorded with his backup band in one long take.

Bejar explained in a statement: "That song always swung between super austere and super mid-'70s Springsteen/Bowie street-rock. In the end, I decided I wanted both. Couldn't really figure out a way to sequence the orchestral version within the record, so I decided to carve it up as a book-ending motif, with the rock version squarely in the middle."

As for the rest of the LP, the Destroyer leader had told Exclaim! last year that a handful of tracks "have a Destroyer-like quality to them."

"I don't really know what that means, but you write a song and you're just like, 'Wow, that really sounds like a song I might write,'" he said at the time. "That seems like an incredibly obvious statement to make, but it doesn't always work out that way."

Down below, you can check out the new sax-slathered album cut "Dream Lover." And, yes, that's the Bejar-sporting album cover up above.

Along with the record, Destroyer will also deliver a two-song 12-inch on August 28 that features a remix of Poison Season number "Forces from Above" by DJ johnedwardcollins@gmail.com (a.k.a. producer/New Pornographers member John Collins) and the orchestral version of "Times Square, Poison Season."

Destroyer has also unveiled a big batch of tour dates that will keep the act busy throughout the fall. The North American portion of the trip includes stops in Toronto and Montreal, as well as a hometown gig at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom. You'll find all of the details down below.

Poison Season:

1. Times Square, Poison Season

2. Dream Lover

3. Forces From Above

4. Hell

5. The River

6. Girl in a Sling

7. Times Square

8. Archer on the Beach

9. Midnight Meet the Rain

10. Solace's Bride

11. Bangkok

12. Sun in the Sky

13. Times Square, Poison Season II

Tour dates:

09/18 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

09/19 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore

09/20 Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater

09/21 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom

09/23 Austin, TX - The Mohawk

09/24 Dallas, TX - Trees

09/25 Lawrence, KS - The Granada

09/26 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe

09/27 Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

09/29 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch

09/30 Toronto, ON - The Danforth Music Hall

10/01 Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount

10/02 Boston, MA - Royale

10/03 Philadelphia, PA - Underground Arts

10/04 New York, NY - Webster Hall

10/05 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

10/07 Asheville, NC - The Grey Eagle

10/08 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle

10/09 Atlanta, GA - The Loft

10/10 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge

10/11 St. Louis, MO - The Ready Room

10/13 Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theater

10/14 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge

10/15 Boise, ID - Neurolux

10/16 Seattle, WA - The Neptune

10/17 Vancouver, BC - The Commodore Ballroom

10/30 London, England - Islington Assembly Hall

10/31 Brighton, England - The Haunt

11/01 Leeds, England - Brudenell Social Club

11/02 Bristol, England - The Lantern

11/04 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique

11/07 Bologna, Italy - Covo

11/08 Rome, Italy - Biko

11/09 Luzern, Switzerland - Sudpol

11/10 Lausanne, Switzerland - Le Romandie

11/11 St. Gallen, Switzerland - Palace

11/12 Vienna, Austria - Sczene

11/13 Munich, Germany - Kammerspiele

11/14 Cologne, Germany - Luxor

11/15 Berlin, Germany - Lido

11/17 Bergen, Norway - Hulen

11/18 Oslo, Norway - Parkteatret

11/19 Stockholm, Sweden - Kagelbanan

11/20 Copenhagen, Denmark - Pumpehuset

11/21 Utrecht, Netherlands - Le Guess Who? Festival

Tour Dates

Latest Coverage