Prior to the release of this single, which is warm and sure of itself and grown up, Dan Bejar, who records as Destroyer, released an ambient 12-inch with a song called "Grief Point." On it, he pontificated about his career and how he felt like people weren't feeling Trouble in Dreams. At least, that's what we got from it—there was a lot of ice cube tinkling that made us feel like we were listening to "This American Life" or something. Putting aside the fact that we actually thought Trouble in Dreams was a great record—all the sprawl of Rubies condensed and transformed into soaring pop—we can see how Bejar maybe wanted to change lanes a bit. So "Chinatown" comes off less like a rock song and more like drunkenly wistful lounge music, which would actually sound terrible coming from just about anyone else except Destroyer.
Download: Destroyer, "Chinatown"
