6. Your Blues (2004)

Perhaps the most overtly theatrical of all Destroyer releases, Your Blues is a brilliant but decidedly high-concept take on folk rock as processed through a dramatic amalgam of synths, over-the-top backing vocals, and a general disposition to the confusing emotional catharsis of Broadway. Bejar has averred his love of this music before, stating in a Pitchfork interview: “I really liked this one record where Bing Crosby narrated ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ and ‘Jack B. Nimble.’ He would do the voices of all the characters. I still have the record — my daughter is pretty into it now.” Here Bejar indulges these preferences on songs like “An Actor’s Revenge,” which begins as a secondhand promise of retribution from an ignored thespian, and morphs into a full-blown blues for the disregarded. Meanwhile, “From Oakland To Warsaw” sympathizes with a would-be contender over music resembling a medieval fanfare: “I know your style/ you’ve got drastic desires.” Don’t we all.