Destroyer - Kaputt
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2011 Ratings: #12 / 1031
Year End Rank: #10
User Score
2011 Rank: #12
Liked by 165 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Guardian
It's unique and warm and beautiful, as love letters are supposed to be.
100
Tiny Mix Tapes

Kaputt is a rare work of historical interpretation and pop artistry, full of beauty and wonder.

100
NOW Magazine

While Bejar's arrangement decisions challenge popular notions of what delineates good and bad music, shaking off preconceptions in order to immerse yourself in Kaputt's nighttime world is worth the effort.

92
Beats Per Minute

It takes a few listens for all its subtle nuances to emerge; repeat visits draw attention to just how well-constructed these songs are

92
Spectrum Culture

For the LP, the back end of the formerly 13 minute-long track has been cribbed and a splash of Thrasher’s vocals added to its final seconds, and it’s as good a final act to Kaputt as could be found.

91
A.V. Club

An album that’s as stunning for its straight-faced chutzpah as for its unrepentant, obsessively well-coiffed lushness.

91
Entertainment Weekly

Kaputt nods to Steely Dan and late Roxy Music, and its shimmering synths and moody soft rock would be the perfect soundtrack to a romantic urban noir.

90
No Ripcord

This is a solid album with some great ideas, and when it’s given the attention it really deserves, those qualities come out in droves.

90
Consequence of Sound

Kaputt is the sort of record that arrives only once in a while: an expansive world that captivates you from beginning to end, impresses you with its self-awareness and cohesiveness, then releases you from its grasp when it's all over.

90
The Needle Drop

Destroyer's latest album is an unexpected change of pace from Dan Bejar and the gang. Rather than continuing to embrace the folk, glam, baroque pop aesthetics that brought the band this far, Kaputt emulates the sounds of disco, new wave, and smooth jazz.

90
Coke Machine Glow

Kaputt is the sound of an artist released from his back catalogue and his own notions of how a song should be sung, or written. It is a mighty, mighty piece of work and really worth celebrating. In my mind, this is Destroyer's best album yet.

90
Drowned in Sound

He approaches near perfection by combining complex song structures with simple pop melodies.

88
Pitchfork

More than any other Destroyer record, you can just throw this on and it sounds good, and plenty will do well stopping there. But for those so inclined, there's more to explore.

86
Paste

Only Bejar knows the logic behind his musical metamorphoses, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy an album as smart and as beguiling as Kaputt.

85
Prefix
Kind of like the whole idea of a disco album, a collaboration with a visual artist about African-Americans' tragic history is something you would never expect from Destroyer, and yet once you listen, it seems perfectly authentic, inspired, and essential.
80
Q Magazine

Kaputt expresses the Vancouverite's fastidious Anglophilia, rustling up '80s pop opulence while maintaining a scruffy bohemian cred.

80
Mojo
Dan Bejar's surprising mix of slinky '80s soft rock and sophisticated disco.
80
Uncut
Unique, captivating stuff.
80
Slant Magazine

Not all of Kaputt is so dynamic, and many of the songs require a few listens before they begin to assert their individual identities. But Kaputt does contain riches to rival the previous highpoints in the Destroyer canon.

80
The Skinny

Consequently, listeners might initially slide between its smooth grooves into a pit of cheese – but steady yourself, because Kaputt deserves perseverance.

80
Under the Radar
Sure it's a little pretentious, but poetic license feels more like a savage gift in Bejar's hands.
80
NME
Bejar creates an astonishing world in just nine songs; it's his finest work to date, and excessive, but irresistibly so.
80
musicOMH
Bejar has relaxed his vocal delivery a little here, perhaps to better blend with the rich, shiny detail of his music.
70
Alternative Press

Kaputt expresses equal slyness via gratiutious saxophone and trumpet solos.

70
Rolling Stone

Bejar’s ninth disc detours into all manner of early-Eighties smoothness — glassy New Wave bass lines, blue-Monday synths, turquoise- sport-coat saxophones, backup singers straight off a Steely Dan record, all filtered through the obtuse, literary bent that turns Destroyer albums into such fun puzzles.

70
SPIN

Long on cryptic references and Euro-weary mood, the vintage electronic-pop ambience of Destroyer's ninth album recalls the days when MTV emphasized music.

70
AllMusic

Where previous outings like This Night and Streethawk: A Seduction mined the '70s for inspiration, 2011's Kaputt utilizes '80s sophisti-pop, New Romantic, Northern soul, and straight-up adult contemporary to deliver a flawed but fascinating record.

60
PopMatters

Kaputt is eccentric and enjoyable, but it's no Infidels, which is to say it never quite breaks through its sonic limitations.

Doublez
91

[Hello AOTY, I've been a bit busy lately, but I'll come back more active. This does not prevent me from following your projects and reviews closely. I'm currently working on the revisit of the year 2011 (for the 10 years anniversary you will have understood) in order to be able to publish a list in a near future of my Top. This list will be accompanied by some reviews according to my desires as the one of today and I am also open to some suggestions that you can indicate in the comments. Thanks ... read more

Indicate
93

mfs really decided to name their band “Destroyer” and then decided to make music like this.

OswaldDatenzwal
100

The making of 2008’s “trouble in dreams” was supposably frustrating for Destroyers front man and songwriter Dan Bejar, who has described this period of time as somewhat of a creative and intuitive slump for his songwriting, and production ideas. So, one would imagine that when Destroyer came through with one of their biggest critical hits, it would be called a “return to form”, but this is Destroyer, that very much did not happen, not only because Trouble in dreams ... read more

nilmaoo
80

такое тепло

AnotherWhiteMan
90

White man approved.

kobeniscar
50

This was lame to me, nothing really interesting.

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