Destroyer songwriter Dan Bejar’s flowery, narrative prose wraps the nut of a song’s message in a thick layer of surrealism, one that renders his meaning almost as difficult to decipher as an e.e. cummings poem. In tandem with Bejar’s nasal sing-speaking, it’s safe to say that Destroyer is an acquired taste. But like an appreciation for fine wine, it’s a taste that, once acquired, not only brings the same measure of pleasure on the first go-round as the two hundredth, but those subsequent listens (or “sips,” if you like) often unmask new linguistic subtleties—puns, pop culture references, what have you—that you might’ve missed on the first few dozen rotations. But it’s the instrumentals that help Destroyer’s compositional style retain its exciting freshness, even though there’s been little sonic evolution over the thirteen years that Bejar’s been releasing records. From the unbelievable organ solo in “Queen of Language” (from 2000’s Thief) to the breakdown on Trouble In Dreams closer “Libby’s First Sunrise,” Dan Bejar’s music is as layered and as intellectually absorbing as his lyrics are. While it’s best to experience Bejar in person after you’ve become familiar with his music, Bejar appears solo on this particular tour, which means it’ll be a little easier than normal to pick out the buried meanings and subtle jabs hidden in Bejar’s bizarre wordplay.

Wed., May 6, 8 p.m., 2009