Some of us love dreams more than others…
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[4.43]
Alfred Soto: I’ve been waiting half my life for a Psychedelic Furs rip as bold as what Dan Bejar and company pulled off: dig that sax blasting that cinder block mix. Intended for those of us who prefer him leashed to homages to (un)cool influences instead of expressing himself.
[7]
Cédric Le Merrer: It’s been ten years since throwing too many badly played instruments on a classic pop template was the default aesthetic of indie rock. Having a terrible singer was great, too. I don’t really know if Bejar stuck to his guns the whole time or if this is a revivalism of the small period of time I actually paid attention to contemporary indie rock, but either way, he was not even good at the time and the whole thing is still stupid. I can’t remember why I ever listened to this when I can listen to people who are actually not terrible at pop.
[2]
Thomas Inskeep: A four-on-the-floor beat straight outta “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” a saxophone that honks and squalls, and a nasty vocal from Dan Bejar, new waving like it’s 1981 and he’s going for airplay after the Police on AOR radio: totally dissimilar to Kaputt, and totally hot.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Kaputt wasn’t really the throwback, you know. Those early Destroyer records owe a lot to the barely-tuneful cabaret glam of Cockney Rebel. But soft rock still bugs out a lot of little eyes, and the Bejar that Kaputt spawned now walks and talks a lot of shame about whatever he thinks pop is and wherever he thinks it’s taken him. So now the horns suck and the strings have to jump on shoulders. At least the sentences are shorter, and the phrasing’s definitely ace (“dream lover I know” could be read — and is — at least three different ways). Noting the sunrise is a pretty fucked-up move: in what world would you chase a late night with this oozing racket? He could’ve used a blank space, that’s for sure.
[6]
Will Adams: They’re just gonna keep flogging that snare drum until it becomes meaningful, eh? The woven saxophones are the highlight here, if only for the slurred vocal and flattened dynamics providing little competition.
[4]
David Sheffieck: The music sounds like the kind of driving, maximalist track that might have come from a Broken Social Scene album a decade ago. The vocal sounds like someone doing a karaoke take over said track: it’s so far separated from the rest of the mix that it’s hard to engage both parts as a whole. The effect is distancing, and a bit baffling, and it sinks what otherwise should be an engaging song.
[4]
Micha Cavaseno: *hears those bad pseudo-Springsteen horns* Ooooh boy, its gonna be one of those days huh? *reaches into box of Coca-Cola cans near the desk, hears this dude’s vocal tone* OOHOOHHHH BOY… WOW… I mean wow… *pops top, shaking head as I hear the bit about “Haunted starlight” getting in my eye and turning me around, and then that insectile voice saying ‘suprizzzze’* Jesus, I know he’s doing the ‘Born To Run’ bit a bit hard, but what is this Bee Movie accent with these lyrics? Then again, Springsteen has those lines about the car hood, so I can’t judge… Funny how without those horns, this probably could easily be another terrible Arcade Fire “STOMP AND STOMP AND MARCH AND THINK ABOUT YOUR POIGNANT LIFE”-…… Ooooh no, no, he tried a bridge….. *face contorts, puts down drink* ‘Ohshitherecomesthe sun…’?!? What the fuck is this phrasing!? Who sent this idiot!? Man this song goes nowhere. Like, he has no chorus, no good lyrics, this stupid march along groove, the sax fucking sucks. How come indie people can’t find good sax players? Stupid question… Oh, we’re going for the big finale! THEY’RE GONNA MAKE IT KIDS!… Wow, get to the finale already… Wow, out on a whimper, and a pretty feeble existence for all the quaking you did. Good riddance.
[1]