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Kaputt (album)

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Kaputt
Studio album by
Destroyer
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2011
Recorded2008–10
StudioJC/DC Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia
Genre
Length50:08 (US CD / digital)
70:06 (European CD / vinyl)
LabelMerge, Dead Oceans
ProducerJC/DC (John Collins and David Carswell)
Destroyer chronology
Archer on the Beach
(2010) 		Kaputt
(2011) 		Five Spanish Songs
(2013)

Kaputt is the ninth album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. It was released on January 25, 2011 by Merge Records and Dead Oceans Records.[7] The album was leaked towards the end of 2010.[8][9] The vinyl edition of the album features bonus material on side three written largely by frequent Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois. This material is also included in the European CD version of the album credited as 'The Laziest River'.

The album was named as a shortlisted (one of 10) nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize award.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.1/10[10]
Metacritic84/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[1]
The Guardian[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)B+[15]
NME8/10[16]
Pitchfork8.8/10[2]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin7/10[5]

Kaputt received widespread acclaim from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 38 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[11] In a five-star review of the album for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis was complimentary of the album's stylistic similarities and lyrical allusions to 1980s popular culture, writing that Kaputt "swerves accusations of archness or kitsch" because of the strength of its songs.[13] Petridis further stated that the album "feels like an open love letter to a vanished pop era: it's unique and warm and beautiful, as love letters are supposed to be."[13] Laura Snapes of NME called it Daniel Bejar's "finest work to date, and excessive, but irresistibly so."[16]

Pitchfork placed Kaputt second on their list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011.[18] It also placed on year-end best album lists from Uncut (number 31)[19] and Mojo (number 41), among others.[20] In August 2014, Kaputt was placed as number 16 on a list published by Pitchfork of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014).[21] In 2019, they ranked the album at number 22 in their list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s"; editor Jeremy D Larson wrote that "Dan Bejar made a masterpiece out of a comedown, a glassy-eyed look at a world starting to collapse."[22] In the same year, Pitchfork also ranked "Chinatown" at number 86 on its list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.[23]

Track listing

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CD and digital version

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All tracks are written by Daniel Bejar, except for lyrics in "Savage Night at the Opera" which are co-written by Kara Walker and "The Laziest River" co-written by Ted Bois.

No.TitleLength
1."Chinatown"3:49
2."Blue Eyes"4:07
3."Savage Night at the Opera"4:24
4."Suicide Demo for Kara Walker"8:26
5."Poor in Love"3:26
6."Kaputt"6:18
7."Downtown"3:52
8."Song for America"4:29
9."Bay of Pigs (Detail)"11:19

The European CD version contains "The Laziest River" as a single track after "Song for America".

Vinyl version

[edit]
Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Chinatown"3:49
2."Blue Eyes"4:07
3."Savage Night at the Opera"4:24
4."Suicide Demo for Kara Walker"8:26
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Poor in Love"3:26
2."Kaputt"6:18
3."Downtown"3:52
4."Song for America"4:29
Side three: The Laziest River
No.TitleLength
1."Prelude (Estuary)"4:17
2."Nagel's Marimba"4:28
3."The Laziest River"7:04
4."Palm Springs Life"0:30
5."Landing on Water"3:39
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Bay of Pigs (Detail)"11:18

Personnel

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The following people contributed to Kaputt:[24]

Destroyer

  • Daniel Bejar – composition, musician
  • Ted Bois – musician, cover photography
  • Pete Bourne – musician
  • Nicolas Bragg – musician
  • John Collins – musician, engineering, production
  • Joseph Shabason – musician

Additional personnel

  • Cady Bean-Smith – design
  • David Carswell – production
  • J.P. Carter – trumpet
  • Sibel Thrasher – musician
  • Kara Walker – composition

References

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  1. ^ a b Petrusich, Amanda (January 19, 2011). "Kaputt". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c Richardson, Mark (January 24, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Hyden, Steven (January 25, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  4. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (25 January 2011). "Singled Out: Destroyer's 'Kaputt'". NPR.
  5. ^ a b Menconi, David (January 25, 2011). "Destroyer, 'Kaputt' (Merge)". Spin. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  6. ^ Terich, Jeff; Blyweiss, Adam; Bossenger, A. T.; Prickett, Sam (24 April 2014). "10 Essential Sophisti-pop albums". Treblezine. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Destroyer - Kaputt". www.mergerecords.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
  8. ^ "Frontier Psychiatrist – daily online arts and culture journal covering music, books, film, travel". frontpsych.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  9. ^ "Kaputt by Destroyer leaked... and I'm a believer!". tsururadio.
  10. ^ "Kaputt by Destroyer reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Reviews for Kaputt by Destroyer". Metacritic. Retrieved November 8, 2011.
  12. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Kaputt – Destroyer". AllMusic. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  13. ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (December 22, 2011). "Destroyer: Kaputt – review". The Guardian. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  14. ^ Wappler, Margaret (January 25, 2011). "Album review: Destroyer's 'Kaputt'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 17, 2012). "Mekons/Destroyer". MSN Music. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  16. ^ a b Snapes, Laura (June 14, 2011). "Album Review: Destroyer – 'Kaputt'". NME. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  17. ^ Dolan, Jon (January 25, 2011). "Kaputt". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  18. ^ "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork. December 15, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2012.
  19. ^ "Uncut's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. November 29, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  20. ^ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  21. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010–2014)". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  22. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  23. ^ "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Kaputt – Destroyer > Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
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