Ken
by Destroyer
  • Record Label: Merge
  • Release Date: Oct 20, 2017
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
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  1. The Independent (UK)
    Oct 19, 2017
    100
    A set of songs seething with dark knowledge, as Bejar peeks behind the curtain of appearances in search of underlying motivations.
  2. The Line of Best Fit
    Oct 17, 2017
    85
    Destroyer’s new album, ken, is Bejar’s best work since his masterpiece.
  3. musicOMH.com
    Nov 15, 2017
    80
    Comfortably surpassing Poison Season, ken is hugely listenable throughout, and with so many ‘80s touchpoints in evidence, it often sounds like it could actually have been made at that time. Which, despite the uneducated blindly condemning the decade due to its considerable amount of cheese and big hair, is no bad thing.
  5. The Quietus
    Oct 31, 2017
    80
    While Poison Season sounded like the kind of late-career ‘mature’ album that Bejar could be content to make for the rest of his life, ken shows that he is still full of the potential to surprise--and long may he continue to do so.
  6. The 405
    Oct 25, 2017
    80
    This album scales back significantly from the relative bombast of the grand Poison Season in favor of a more intimate, simple setting. Stranding himself nearly alone--aside from longtime collaborator Josh Wells--Bejar hunkered down to record the simultaneously unconcerned and emotional splash that is ken.
  7. Drowned In Sound
    Oct 24, 2017
    80
    ken’s a grower. It’s not going to immediately colonise one’s affections in the way the best Destroyer records do, but it will slowly get there, even if some will immediately dismiss it as a supposedly 'weak entry' in the Destroyer catalogue.
  8. Dusted Magazine
    Oct 23, 2017
    80
    The words, as always, tap into the subconscious, making different kinds of sense depending on when you hear them, though that meaning may be more a matter of you than the words themselves.
  9. Spin
    Oct 20, 2017
    80
    ken, Bejar’s sparest album in terms of lyrical density and length in some time, is an aggressive, well-chiseled shift.
  10. DIY Magazine
    Oct 20, 2017
    80
    While Ken is more accessible than its predecessor it seems unlikely to affect the Vancouver musician’s cult name status.
  11. The Guardian
    Oct 19, 2017
    80
    Ken isn’t quite as cohesive as 2011’s outstanding breakthrough, Kaputt, but makes another fine addition to the canon.
  12. Exclaim
    Oct 19, 2017
    80
    With ken, he has once again delivered an excellent record that offers both sonic surprises and familiar idiosyncrasies.
  13. AllMusic
    Oct 19, 2017
    80
    It dispenses cautionary maxims through passages of heavy guitar distortion and sleeker moments of acoustic guitar and synths. Taken together, his typical existential outlook combined with a heavier presence of New Order-like industrial timbres make this a somewhat darker album, but still delightfully Destroyer.
  14. Slant Magazine
    Oct 17, 2017
    80
    The album is murky and claustrophobic but still consistently melodic.
  15. Pitchfork
    Oct 20, 2017
    79
    Like one of Lynch’s filmic worlds, ken is elegant and perverse, a reflection on where we came from, and the unbelievable place we seem to have ended up.
  16. Under The Radar
    Oct 20, 2017
    75
    This isn't so much a Destroyer reinvention, something Bejar has done countless times before, as it is a gradual shift into the highlights of a decade he's always had a thing for. He builds in layers, he ends with a flourish, and he's certainly still singing in a voice that sounds like David Bowie narrating an audiobook. None of this is a complaint. Destroyer sound like nothing else.
  17. Consequence
    Oct 20, 2017
    75
    Overall, ken is one of Destroyer’s most accessible albums. It features nary a song over six minutes and several under three, its sounds are compact and crisp, and its arrangements are clever and cohesive.
  18. The A.V. Club
    Oct 20, 2017
    75
    This record is a grower whose off-putting quirks--like the swampy electronic muck that surrounds Bejar on “Saw You At The Hospital” or the discordant droning foundation of “A Light Travels Down The Catwalk”--give way and blend with all the gloss underneath them into yet another strange, frequently gorgeous album.
  19. Mojo
    Oct 24, 2017
    60
    There are some sumptuous moments, but it's also arch and mannered, and rather awkward to embrace. [Dec 2017, p.93]
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  20. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 23, 2017
    60
    Over the course of the album, however, his mannered delivery grates, turning Ken, with two notable exceptions (Tinseltown Swimming in Blood; Saw You at the Hospital), into a twisted strain of cabaret.
  21. Uncut
    Oct 17, 2017
    60
    While there are plenty of new lyrical Bejarisms to enjoy, the packaging feels a little stale. [Nov 2017, p.26]
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  22. Pretty Much Amazing
    Oct 31, 2017
    58
    This is the kind that makes you want to go back and listen to his older stuff, if only to remind you he’s capable of wonders.
  23. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Oct 20, 2017
    50
    The lyrics can’t support the music, and vice-versa. That’s not to say there aren’t some great moments for people who’ve been following Bejar’s work--“Ivory Coast” and much of the second half of the record have a lot of noteworthy moments, in both their musical adventurousness and lyrical successes. But the interplay between flatness and richness that Bejar describes as integral to his lyrics--and that can be extended to its interplay with his music--isn’t here a lot of the time.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 27 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. Music_Observer
    Nov 2, 2017
    6
    The musicians had a nice clean slate approach that came through with sharp texture changes and prominent guitar effects, but without muchThe musicians had a nice clean slate approach that came through with sharp texture changes and prominent guitar effects, but without much pleasantry or color the sound wasn’t overwhelmingly successful and didn’t deserve to be the crux of the entire work, as the songwriting suffered from being ordinary and awkward despite keeping a basic level of interest. My Score: 118/180 (Good) = 6.5/10… Full Review »
  2. heady_v_goode
    Oct 23, 2017
    10
    user "jungstir" review before mine is extremely misleading. the first half of this album is not acoustic in any way! A few acoustic guitarsuser "jungstir" review before mine is extremely misleading. the first half of this album is not acoustic in any way! A few acoustic guitars pop up at various points throughout the album, but it's certainly not limited to the first half. The sound is consistent throughout this record. It definitely has a UK/Euro 80s throwback vibe to it, but its true heart (like Poison Season before it) lies squarely in the light, sophisticated sonic journey begun in earnest with Kaputt, which is when Destroyer arguably found his sound.

    Saxes and muted trumpets appear occasionally; layers of electric guitars sometimes sound so wet and smeared they resemble foggy horn sections. Destroyer music always plays well in nice weather and this is no exception, despite its grey sky vibes. No matter its influences or goals it marries everything to the aforementioned trademark Destroyer sound.    … Full Review »
  3. DavidWasHere
    Oct 21, 2017
    8
    ken is a rather interesting album. While I'm not as familiar with Destroyer's past work outside of the New Pornographers and his last albumken is a rather interesting album. While I'm not as familiar with Destroyer's past work outside of the New Pornographers and his last album Poison Season, which has been a while, I'm not sure if ken is representative of his other work, especially coming off of Poison Season because it's a total throwback to gothic 80s post-punk, particularly the Cure. Like it is kind of scary how super similar the instrumentation and production sounds like it would have been on a Cure album in the 80s. Which isn't a bad thing. Not at all. The album has this eerie tone and atmosphere that is complimented by beautiful spaced out guitar work that just adds to the overall vibe and mood. While some listeners might be thrown off by how relaxed and low-key the album can be, and people new to Destroyer might not like Dan's vocals, which sound like an odd mix of Bowie and Marc Bolan (I dig it), dig deeper and there is more to enjoy, especially with the lyrical content matching so well to the overall mood.… Full Review »
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