3. Streethawk: A Seduction (2001)

The first full-fledged masterpiece in the Destroyer catalog, Streethawk is a tour de force of fearful proportions, a full distillation of a brilliant songwriter’s gift for acid-tongued wit, indelible melody, and into-the-mystic meditations on art and love. Rock and roll has rarely been so quotable — there is a hardly a minute that goes by on Streethawk without Bejar enlivening matters with a laugh-out-loud turn of phrase or withering insight — but unforgettable tunes like the monster glam strut of “The Sublimation Hour,” the gorgeous, strumming ballad “Helena,” and the devastating Ian Curtis tribute “Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (Sea Of Tears)” prove more than a match for the lyrical pyrotechnics. Before Streethawk, Bejar seemed like a clever writer of considerable promise with a lot of good ideas rattling around in his unusual mind. Afterward, it seemed like we just might have a genius on our hands.