It's hard being the New Pornographers cast member who's not Neko or Carl. The latest material from the supergroup's third-ranked solo star, Dan Bejar, reminds us he's a more than capable top dog. "Destroyer's Rubies" yokes "Blonde"-era Dylan vocals to the swirling psychedelia of the Flaming Lips.
Destroyer's Rubies is a collection of shrewd pop music that takes no prisoners and asks no pardons. Equal parts cynicism, disdain, hope and humor; self-referential, self-mocking, sagacious and coy. There is mythology, there is history, there is heartbreak and there is triumph. Follow along as Bejar leaves his breadcrumb trail twisting through the crumbling forests and bleak landscapes of modern popular music. It's all heady and ecstatic. Trust him, he has his reasons.
Bejar's Dylanesque flare for biting and sardonic wit and his nods to the glam and bombastic folk approaches of early Tyrannosaurus Rex and Bowie recordings have clearly distanced Destroyer from the more straightforward pop of his "other" band, The New Pornographers. But you can hear a few more colloquial pop hooks seeping into the formula here, just to sweeten the pot.