#3- Destroyer- Destroyer's Rubies

Put simply, Destroyer's Rubies was the album of my summer. Couple some of Dan Bejar's best lyrical work with a whole slew of classic rock "la la la" choruses, and you have what may go down as Destroyer's most accessible, yet most impressive work. Previous albums, though notable, tended to lose direction - awash in Bejar's impressionistic wordplay without the framework of memorable melodies that Destroyer's Rubies has. Though his literate yelping may turn some off, Bejar has never quit being one of the more unique voices in today's "indie" crowd - inviting comparisons to greats like Bowie, Dylan and Reed. Like those greats, analyzing his slew of obscure references for some overarching meaning often proves to be frustrating. With Bejar, it's more about appreciating the intricacies of his alliterate couplets, dry wit and stuttering-yet-relaxed lyrical flow - not many could pull off starting out an album with something as seemingly inane as "Dueling cyclones jackknife/ they got eyes for your wife/ and the blood that lives in her heart."

Destroyer's Rubies has a memorable quality that is missing from the band's earlier work. Sure it's still esoteric as hell - I have no clue what "Felt some mercurial presence, hitherto unknown/ It was the sun. It was a stone falling through blank space/ It was that jewel-encrusted roan getting in my face" means, but I'll be damned if it ain't fun to roll down the windows and sing along to.

Destroyer- Rubies from Destroyer's Rubies