Pop craftsmen like Daniel Bejar come around only a few times each generation. His 2001 album, Destroyer’s Streethawk: A Seduction, is the most potent collection of pop songwriting in a long, long time. Drawing on influences past (Bowie, Syd Barrett, Eno, Mayo Thompson, the Smiths) and present (Pavement, the Fall, David Berman), Bejar and his four Destroyer cohorts concocted a 12-song album of timeless pop anthems.

But while Destroyer pays a debt to classic sounds, Bejar’s talent shines brightest in his overtly literary lyrics. His words spill out like poetry--sometimes the message is unmistakable, other times it's hidden in twisted vines of allegory. Destroyer is not Bejar's only songwriting vehicle; he was also a main contributor to the much acclaimed New Pornographers’ Mass Romantic (Mint).

Bejar founded Destroyer as a solo project in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995. His first album, We’ll Build Them a Golden Bridge (Tinker), was a lo-fi rumble in the fuzz-folk spirit of early recordings by Pavement or Smog. By 1998 Bejar had added a rhythm section and ventured into the studio for the first time to create City of Daughters (Endearing), a sparse collection of catchy pop songs with obtuse lyricism at the forefront. 2000 brought the release of Thief (Catsup Plate), again recorded in Vancouver. With the lineup expanded to a quintet and enhanced with fuller orchestration and even richer lyrics Thief quietly attracted a spirited cult of Destroyer supporters.

Recorded at JC/DC studios in Vancouver, Streethawk marks a major step forward in terms of production and fidelity for Destroyer. Bejar is joined by John Collins (New Pornographers, Evaporators), Scott Morgan (Loscil), Stephen Wood and Jason Zumpano (Zumpano). Destroyer have created an unforgettable album of baroque pop songs ­- ranging from rollicking piano vamps to softly plucked ballads -­ that is easily the most accomplished Destroyer release to date.

Since the release of Streethawk, Bejar has taken a lengthy sabbatical in Spain, dissolved the incarnation of Destroyer that played on Thief and Streethawk, played an offhandedly brilliant show or two, moved to Montreal, and now finds himself back in Vancouver, with a new line-up and a new double album. Sixty-eight minutes long, This Night, will be released by Merge in October of 2002.