Have We Met

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
For a subreddit, see r/HaveWeMet.

Have We Met
File:Destroyer - Have We Met.png
Studio album by
Destroyer
ReleasedJanuary 31, 2020
Length42:11
Label
ProducerJohn Collins
Destroyer chronology
Ken
(2017) 		Have We Met
(2020) 		Labyrinthitis
(2022)
Singles from Have We Met
  1. "Crimson Tide"
    Released: October 22, 2019
  2. "It Just Doesn't Happen"
    Released: November 19, 2019
  3. "Cue Synthesizer"
    Released: January 8, 2020

Have We Met is the twelfth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on January 31, 2020, by Merge Records and Dead Oceans.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Background and recording

[edit | edit source]

Have We Met was initially conceived by group leader Dan Bejar as a "Y2K album" with instrumentals inspired by the music of Björk, Air, and Massive Attack and 90's trip hop.[9][10][11][12] The concept was quickly scrapped,[9][10] with Bejar later explaining in an interview with Stereogum, "It wasn't a sound that really conjured up anything to anyone."[13] Bejar characterizes the album as a "record born of isolation" with the motif of "a couple individuals huddled around the glow of the computer light."[12] The album features a return to Bejar's stream of consciousness lyrics, previously employed on Kaputt (2011).[9][10]

The album's recording style marks a shift from the band-orientated recording approach of previous Destroyer albums.[9][10] Bejar recorded vocals for the album at night at his kitchen table, singing into a microphone connected to his laptop running GarageBand.[14] He sent the vocals as well as demos of the album's songs to longtime producer John Collins, who worked on the songs on his laptop and iPad for three months at his home in Seattle,[14] adding layers of synthesizers and rhythm sections with guitar lines by Nicolas Bragg.[9][10] Collins also used fragments from previous Destroyer recording sessions to create soundscapes, including saxophone from Kaputt and trumpet from Poison Season (2015).[14]

Collins also produced and mixed the album.[9][10] Commenting on Collins's involvement. Bejar said "I'd just give the whole thing to John and have him just blow it up, flesh it out – swap out my s—tty fake drums for cool drums, and play bass on it, and make the synths cool and not generic, and make the songs move."[12] Most of the finished tracks on the album feature the first or seconds takes of the vocals that Bejar recorded.[13] Bejar initially never planned to use the vocal recordings, calling them "the most piss-poor things that I've done since" the Destroyer album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge (1995) which he recorded on 4-track.[13] However, he became attached to the first takes he recorded since he felt they captured a vibe that "was enough to anchor the whole record."[13]

In its press release and subsequent interviews, Bejar said the album was partially influenced by 1980s films, including White Nights (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986) in an attempt to make the album "really film noir-ish and spooky."[15][13] The album was also influenced by the minimalism of 1980s hip hop music, the soundtracks of Korean horror movies, the five-hour director's cut of Until the end of the World (1991), and Leonard Cohen's last albums.[14] Bejar admits the finished album was "more poppy than I envisioned."[12]

Music and lyrics

[edit | edit source]

"University Hill" is a reference to University Endowment Lands, located west of Vancouver, where Bejar lived when he was young.[14] Speaking with The Quietus, Bejar describes the lyrics of Have We Met as "the most grotesque" when "compared to all other Destroyer records."[11]

Release

[edit | edit source]

The album was announced on October 22, 2019, and "Crimson Tide" was released as its first single with an accompanying music video directed by David Galloway.[16] A North American tour in support of the album was announced the same day, beginning in February 2020.[17] "It Just Doesn't Happen" was released as the album's second single on November 19, 2019, accompanied by a music video featuring a snowmobile rider driving in the dark.[18][19][20] "Cue Synthesizer" was released as the album's third single on January 8, 2020, accompanied by a music video directed by David Ehrenreich.[21][22]

Critical reception

[edit | edit source]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[24]
Exclaim!7/10[25]
The GuardianStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[26]
MojoStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[27]
NMEStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[28]
Pitchfork8.5/10[29]
PopMatters8/10[30]
QStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[31]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[32]
Uncut8/10[33]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, Have We Met received an average score of 80 based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[23]

Jason Anderson of Uncut praised the album's "plusher aesthetic and eager melodicism" and singled out "Crimson Tide", "The Raven" and "The Man in Black's Blues" as "irresistible examples of Bejar's blend of soft rock, dream-pop and more idiosyncratic elements."[33] Danny Eccleston of Mojo gave the album a positive review, characterizing it as "a richly inventive 21st century version of mid-'80s UK art pop."[27] Writing for Exclaim, Matthew Blenkarn characterized the lyrics of the tracks "The Television Music Supervisor," and "Crimson Tide" as "dead end," concluding "it makes for immersive listening, even when tracks fail to sustain themselves."[25]

Year-end lists

[edit | edit source]
Year-end lists for Have We Met
Publication List Rank Ref.
Exclaim! 50 Best Albums of 2020
17
[34]
The Guardian The 50 best albums of 2020
49
[35]
NBHAP 50 Best Albums of 2020
19
[36]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2020
18
[37]
Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2020 So Far
42
[38]
Uncut The Top 75 Albums of the Year
36
[39]
Under the Radar Top 100 Albums of 2020
20
[40]

Track listing

[edit | edit source]
Have We Met track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Crimson Tide"6:09
2."Kinda Dark"3:25
3."It Just Doesn't Happen"5:01
4."The Television Music Supervisor"4:09
5."The Raven"3:35
6."Cue Synthesizer"3:55
7."University Hill"3:39
8."Have We Met"2:54
9."The Man in Black's Blues"3:39
10."Foolssong"5:45
Total length:42:11

Notes

Personnel

[edit | edit source]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Have We Met.[42]

  • Dan Bejar – vocals, synthesizer
  • John Collins – production, mixing, bass, synthesizer, drum programming, granular synthesis
  • Nicolas Bragg – guitar
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Maegan Hill-Carroll – front and back cover photos, design

Charts

[edit | edit source]
Sales chart performance for Have We Met
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[43] 135
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[44] 95
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[45] 39

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  31. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  32. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  33. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  34. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  35. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  38. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  39. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  40. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  41. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  42. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  43. ^ "Ultratop.be – Destroyer – Have We Met" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  44. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Destroyer – Have We Met" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  45. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Destroyer – Have We Met". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 21, 2020.

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Have_We_Met&oldid=23415563"