Destroyer's main man Dan Bejar talks about latest release, more

“Dan’s Boogie” is Destroyer’s 14th release, so if you’re not familiar with the band, you have plenty of material to work through. If you want to catch the live show, they’ll be at Rebel Lounge on Friday, September 26.

Its founding member, Dan Bejar, has been at the helm of this musical ship since 1995. Once he laid those roots, Destroyer has been stretching, growing and evolving like a wild tree ever since. The Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist can also rule synthesizers and he taps the piano keys, too. He was also a member of another beloved Canadian indie rock band, the New Pornographers.

The band is a collective, and its core group of members is another part of the equation that sometimes sees changes. Fluidity and flow are equal members of this indie rock group. And they’re the magic ingredients. It’s hard to know what to expect from record to record, and over a dozen records from the jump, that’s proven to add to the excitement.

Whatever the mood or the instrumentation that might be more prevalent on a Destroyer release, the foundation is a blend of indie and chamber pop, indie rock, ‘60s pop and folk, and each release is made unique by its tone. 2002’s “This Night” feeds you all the starkness you can handle, vocals that break your heart even when I don’t think they mean to, and quick and winding guitar picking that makes your skin feel like it's caught up in its strings.

Jump way ahead to “Kaputt” in 2011, and its jazzy overtures and synthy-pop beats give it a zesty, hopeful vibe you can ride on through the end. Between both of those records, I caught sprinkles of a variety of artists, from Palace Brothers to  “Bryter Later”-era Nick Drake to The Beatles. Nothing that ever landed Destroyer in someone else's box, though.
In a chat with Bejar, we talked about what his earlier influences were.

“Destroyer's earliest influences, what I naturally gravitated towards but thought might also separate me from the morass of ‘90s indie mumblers, were Syd Barrett, David Bowie, Roxy Music, John Cale, Scott Walker, Mott the Hoople, etc. Un-American things.”

The latest release, “Dan’s Boogie,” also feels peppy and spirited. I asked Bejar if that sweeping, space-y feel the record has is pertinent to him, specifically, especially since he’s naming himself in the title. Is he maybe feeling a new kind of vulnerability?

“I think what started as a lark of a placeholder of a title slowly took over the entire proceedings during the making of “Dan’s Boogie.” I like that it’s comical, though obviously the title is supposed to be tragic and to conjure up an end-of-the-line feeling.

Age lets you play with things like this. This is me revealing myself in ways I wouldn’t normally. A gnarlier form of melancholy than what Destroyer has played with in the past, but also funnier. And uncensored. And room-clearing, the way old man jokes tend to.”

It was around age 22 when Bejar knew that making music was forever. “I knew once I started at that age, I couldn’t stop. Singing my poems, that is. The world decided it could be a viable career for me about 13 years later, after putting out the 7th Destroyer album. By that point, I looked up and noticed people were listening,” he said.

Keeping the door open to adding new players is a facet of Destroyer. I asked Bejar how he navigates that and if he spends much time seeking people out. “It’s both working with friends who do something specific on their instrument that I love,” he said. “But, every once in a while, it’s seeking out strangers who do something on their instrument that I love. But, mostly it’s the former. It’s pretty organic, to be honest.”

Now 30 years in, we talked about whether Bejar ever thought this was where he’d be now, with so much under his belt and a dedicated fan base that keeps growing.

“I don’t think about it too much, but the honest answer is probably ‘no,’” he told me. “I mean, I picture myself always mumbling to myself or scribbling things down, writing something, anything. But the part about existing this long on the margins of show business and still having people wandering out to shows feels unreal.”

We also dug a bit into making art and touring at a particularly weighty time in this country, and how it permeates on multiple levels.

“I think we all feel that weight, no? The world seeps into Destroyer songs, in ways I’m never even sure of. When I’m in need of darkness. I look to the world. More than ever. ‘Dan’s Boogie’ is lousy with it. Even if it’s skipping through that darkness, even if it’s darkness jingles.”

Destroyer with opener Jennifer Castle is at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 26, at Rebel Lounge. Tickets are $34.74, including fees.