Have We Met Explained

Have We Met
Type:studio
Artist:Destroyer
Cover:Destroyer - Have We Met.png
Released:January 31, 2020
Length:42:11
Producer:John Collins
Prev Title:Ken
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:Labyrinthitis
Next Year:2022

Have We Met is the twelfth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on January 31, 2020, by Merge Records and Dead Oceans.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Background and recording

Have We Met was initially conceived by group leader Dan Bejar as a "Y2K album" with instrumentals inspired by the music of Björk, Air, and Massive Attack and 90's trip hop.[9] [10] [11] [12] The concept was quickly scrapped,[9] [10] with Bejar later explaining in an interview with Stereogum, "It wasn't a sound that really conjured up anything to anyone."[13] Bejar characterizes the album as a "record born of isolation" with the motif of "a couple individuals huddled around the glow of the computer light."[12] The album features a return to Bejar's stream of consciousness lyrics, previously employed on Kaputt (2011).[9] [10]

The album's recording style marks a shift from the band-orientated recording approach of previous Destroyer albums.[9] [10] Bejar recorded vocals for the album at night at his kitchen table, singing into a microphone connected to his laptop running GarageBand.[14] He sent the vocals as well as demos of the album's songs to longtime producer John Collins, who worked on the songs on his laptop and iPad for three months at his home in Seattle,[14] adding layers of synthesizers and rhythm sections with guitar lines by Nicolas Bragg.[9] [10] Collins also used fragments from previous Destroyer recording sessions to create soundscapes, including saxophone from Kaputt and trumpet from Poison Season (2015).[14]

Collins also produced and mixed the album.[9] [10] Commenting on Collins's involvement. Bejar said "I'd just give the whole thing to John and have him just blow it up, flesh it out -- swap out my s--tty fake drums for cool drums, and play bass on it, and make the synths cool and not generic, and make the songs move."[12] Most of the finished tracks on the album feature the first or seconds takes of the vocals that Bejar recorded.[13] Bejar initially never planned to use the vocal recordings, calling them "the most piss-poor things that I've done since" the Destroyer album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge (1995) which he recorded on 4-track.[13] However, he became attached to the first takes he recorded since he felt they captured a vibe that "was enough to anchor the whole record."[13]

In its press release and subsequent interviews, Bejar said the album was partially influenced by 1980s films, including White Nights (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986) in an attempt to make the album "really film noir-ish and spooky."[15] [13] The album was also influenced by the minimalism of 1980s hip hop music, the soundtracks of Korean horror movies, the five-hour director's cut of Until the End of the World (1991), and Leonard Cohen's last albums.[14] Bejar admits the finished album was "more poppy than I envisioned."[12]

Music and lyrics

"University Hill" is a reference to University Endowment Lands, located west of Vancouver, where Bejar lived when he was young.[14] Speaking with The Quietus, Bejar describes the lyrics of Have We Met as "the most grotesque" when "compared to all other Destroyer records."[11]

Release

The album was announced on October 22, 2019, and "Crimson Tide" was released as its first single with an accompanying music video directed by David Galloway.[16] A North American tour in support of the album was announced the same day, beginning in February 2020.[17] "It Just Doesn't Happen" was released as the album's second single on November 19, 2019, accompanied by a music video featuring a snowmobile rider driving in the dark.[18] [19] [20] "Cue Synthesizer" was released as the album's third single on January 8, 2020, accompanied by a music video directed by David Ehrenreich.[21] [22]

Critical reception

Jason Anderson of Uncut praised the album's "plusher aesthetic and eager melodicism" and singled out "Crimson Tide", "The Raven" and "The Man in Black's Blues" as "irresistible examples of Bejar's blend of soft rock, dream-pop and more idiosyncratic elements." Danny Eccleston of Mojo gave the album a positive review, characterizing it as "a richly inventive 21st century version of mid-'80s UK art pop." Writing for Exclaim, Matthew Blenkarn characterized the lyrics of the tracks "The Television Music Supervisor," and "Crimson Tide" as "dead end," concluding "it makes for immersive listening, even when tracks fail to sustain themselves."

Year-end lists

Exclaim!50 Best Albums of 2020
The GuardianThe 50 best albums of 2020
NBHAP50 Best Albums of 2020
PitchforkThe 50 Best Albums of 2020
StereogumThe 50 Best Albums of 2020 So Far
UncutThe Top 75 Albums of the Year
Under the RadarTop 100 Albums of 2020

Track listing

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Have We Met.[24]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Destroyer Announces New Album Have We Met, Shares New Song: Listen . Minsker . Evan . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  2. Reed. Ryan. October 22, 2019. Destroyer Prep New LP 'Have We Met,' Surreal Song 'Crimson Tide'. Rolling Stone. October 27, 2019.
  3. Web site: Destroyer announces new album Have We Met, shares "Crimson Tide": Stream . Schatz . Lake . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  4. Web site: Destroyer Announces New Album 'Have We Met' . Murray . Robin . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  5. Web site: Track Of The Day: Destroyer lets his synth proclivities wander on 'Crimson Tide' . Hakimian . Rob . October 23, 2019 . . October 27, 2019 . October 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191027090338/https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/track-of-the-day-destroyer-lets-his-synth-proclivities-wander-on-crimson-tide-157 . dead .
  6. Web site: Destroyer announces new album with lead single "Crimson Tide" . Kenneally . Cerys . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  7. Web site: Destroyer shares "Crimson Tide," announces new album Have We Met . Darville . Jordan . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  8. Web site: Destroyer Announce New Album, Share Lead Single "Crimson Tide" . Goodridge . Hayden . October 22, 2019 . . July 17, 2024.
  9. Web site: Destroyer Announces New LP 'Have We Met' + Shares New Single/Video "Crimson Tide". October 22, 2019. Dead Oceans. October 27, 2019.
  10. Web site: Destroyer - Have We Met. Merge Records. October 22, 2019.
  11. Web site: Master Of Ceremonies: An Interview With Destroyer's Dan Bejar . Clarke . Patrick . January 27, 2020 . . April 19, 2020.
  12. Kelly. Zach. January 30, 2020. Inspirations: Destroyer's Sonic Reinvention and 'Lyrically Nightmarish' New LP 'Have We Met'. Billboard. April 19, 2020.
  13. Web site: Cue Fake Drums: Dan Bejar On Destroyer's Have We Met . Lyons . Patrick . January 23, 2020 . . April 19, 2020.
  14. Web site: Destroyer's Dan Bejar Serenades the Apocalypse . Dombal . Ryan . January 14, 2020 . . January 15, 2020.
  15. Web site: Destroyer Announces New Album, Shares Video for Single "Crimson Tide" . Headley . Janice . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  16. Web site: Destroyer – "Crimson Tide" Video . DeVille . Chris . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  17. Web site: Destroyer Announces New Album 'Have We Met,' Plots North American Tour . Gregory . Allie . October 22, 2019 . . October 27, 2019.
  18. Web site: Destroyer – "It Just Doesn't Happen" Video . DeVille . Chris . November 19, 2019 . . November 19, 2019.
  19. Ehrlich. Brenna. November 19, 2019. Song You Need To Know: Destroyer, 'It Just Doesn't Happen'. Rolling Stone. November 19, 2019.
  20. Web site: Destroyer Shares New Song "It Just Doesn't Happen": Listen . Minsker . Evan . November 19, 2019 . . November 19, 2019.
  21. Web site: Watch Destroyer's Video for New Song "Cue Synthesizer" . Torres . Eric . January 8, 2020 . . January 8, 2020.
  22. Web site: Destroyer – "Cue Synthesizer" Video . Quinlan . Keely . January 8, 2020 . . January 8, 2020.
  23. Web site: Have We Met by Destroyer . . October 27, 2019.
  24. Have We Met . . . 2020 . liner notes . MRG709.