Dig into this week’s Saturday Alternative playlist. The Fitting Room album was ken by Destroyer, out now on Merge Records.
If you don’t know Dan Bejar for his extensive catalogue as Destroyer, there’s a good chance you know him as a former and longtime member of The New Pornographers. That being said, he’s been far more prolific releasing his own music as Destroyer. His new album, ken, is his 12th. The title was inspired by the Suede song, “The Wild Ones,” which Bejar finds particularly influential. Apparently, the original title for the song was “ken,” and so he took it for himself. The album finds the ever-changing songwriter teaming up with his drummer and producer Josh Wells (Black Mountain) to explore a deep, synthetic and often simplistic post-punk vibe, sometimes reminiscent of The Cure, whom he’s said was on their mind when it came to production. Yet, for as straight ahead as some of these songs are sonically, there are plenty of surprising elements that come and go, – sultry saxophones and layers of guitar – and lyrically, Bejar is as poetic as ever.
—hour 1—
Paranoia – Liza Anne
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Whiskey Roller Coaster – Jacob Thomas Jr.
Currency – The Black Angels
Discreate Disguise – King Khan – Murderburgers
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Vacation Town – The Front Bottoms – Going Grey
Point – The Districts – Popular Manipulations
Skyline – Broken Social Scene – Hug of Thunder
Underwater – Elizabeth & The Catapult – Keepsake
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Ecuador (a New Year) – The Anatomy of Frank – South America
Petals – TOPS – Sugar at the Gate
Matters – Twinsmith – Stay Cool
Tic Tac Toe – Django Django – Marble Skies
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Break the Glass – Superchunk
Sensitive Guy – Baio – Man of the World
—hour 2—
Bad Baby – Sarah Jaffe – Bad Baby
Bad Luck Again – The Rural Alberta Advantage – The Wild
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Raw Evolution – Warbly Jets – Warbly Jets
See Through – Splashh – Waiting a Lifetime
All I Want – Ride – Weather Diaries
Helen in the Woods – TORRES – Three Futures
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Little Dark Age – MGMT
Destroy – Raindeer – Neon Death
Seeds – Camille – OUI
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Heartstruck (Wild Hunger) (feat. Angel Olsen) – Hamilton Leithauser
Heaven I Know – Gordi – Reservoir
Death of a Football Manager – Little Cub – Still Life
Stand By – Lawrence Rothman – The Book of Law
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Glass House – Screaming Females – All At Once
Can’t Hold On – Black Lips
—hour 2—
Lights Out – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?
Seeing It – Bully – Losing
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Emotion – Curls – Vante EP
Every Day’s The Weekend – Alex Lahey
Ti Amo – Phoenix – Ti Amo
I Miss Those Days – Bleachers – Gone Now
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——FITTING ROOM——
Sky’s Grey – Destroyer – ken
Tinseltown Swimming in Blood – Destroyer – ken
Rome – Destroyer – ken
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Masseduction – St. Vincent – Masseduction
Equal Powers – Violents & Monica Martin – Awake and Pretty Much Sober
Nobody Cares – Superorganism
Dracula’s Blues – Bunny – Bunny
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Formidable Cool – Wolf Alice – Visions Of A Life
