Albums to watch

Have We Met

Destroyer

Have We Met

Album number twelve from the Canadian indie rock band fronted by New Pornographers member Dan Bejar

ADM rating[?]

7.8

Label
Dead Oceans
UK Release date
31/01/2020
US Release date
31/01/2020
  1. 9.0 |   XS Noize

    Displays Dan Bejar at the peak of his powers doing what he does best and making me anticipate what he will next reveal
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  2. 8.5 |   Northern Transmissions

    Despite the few moments where Bejar lulls the listener into an apathy paralysis, Have We Met is one of the strongest albums in Destroyer’s fruitful career. Many of these songs are certain to be highlights of the band’s live repertoire for years to come
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  3. 8.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    If you’ve enjoyed anything Dan Bejar has done under the Destroyer moniker, you’ll love Have We Met. If you’ve never heard a Destroyer album before, you’ll probably love it too
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  4. 8.5 |   Pitchfork

    On his masterful new album, Dan Bejar moves like a ghost through his familiar and inscrutable universe
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  5. 8.5 |   The Quietus

    Dan Bejar reveals himself as not just a fine songwriter, but one of the age's great musical dramatists
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  6. 8.3 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Dan Bejar's long-running indie rock band still have plenty of urgency left in the tank
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  7. 8.0 |   Under The Radar

    On Have We Met, Bejar responds to a world on fire with a strange, and at times unnerving, calm. The absurdity of this moment suits him well
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  8. 8.0 |   NOW

    The stream-of-consciousness songwriter set out to make "computer music" on his 13th album, but it carries his familiar strange storytelling swagger
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  9. 8.0 |   The FT

    Dan Bejar’s riddling lyrics resonate over enticing musical structures
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  10. 8.0 |   Slant Magazine

    The album both calls attention to its artifice and proves it can still hold a broad emotional range
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  11. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Irresistible examples of Bejar's blend of soft rock, dream-pop and more idiosyncratic elements. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Q

    Like eclipse glasses, these songs are a way to see things too intense to stare at directly. Peer through them, though, and there's Bejar's world, darkness and beauty visible. Print edition only

  13. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Shares melodic strengths with his previous high-water marks. Print edition only

  14. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    Dan Bejar’s return is a revelation
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  15. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    Dan Bejar seems to be channelling superficially shiny 80s pop but beneath the surface of this off-beam album lingers a similar sense of alarm
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  16. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    Dan Bejar seems omnipresent on Destroyer's first album of the 2020s, moving through the arrangements at his own whim
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  17. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Have We Met is nearly impossible to want to exit once you’ve started to mentally map its sounds
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  18. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    It's only after several listens that the album's wholeness clarifies. Because the tracks tend to be downtempo, reflective, and downright sleepy, it takes time and patience to realize Bejar is working like a good storyteller
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  19. 7.7 |   Paste Magazine

    Other than just guitar and bass, Dan Bejar’s latest only utilizes electronic instruments
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  20. 7.0 |   All Music

    While Have We Met doesn't sound quite like top-shelf Destroyer, it's a fine testament to Bejar's talent and his gift for having things both ways at once, lyrically droll and musically cool and on point
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  21. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    Rich and varied enough to offer more than just throwback thrills. It's further proof that amid both destruction and devotion, Bejar's voice remains compelling
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  22. 6.0 |   DIY

    He still has plenty to say and even more fantastical ways to say it
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  23. 6.0 |   The Skinny

    A loose, spontaneous collection of tracks that's light but lacking a little of his trademark depth
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  24. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    Have We Met is one of Bejar’s most interesting so far. But the grating oh-so-indie-look-at-me lyrics bash against the beauty of the beats. Maybe, just maybe, Destroyer should focus on soundtracks from now on
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