| Five Spanish Songs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | November 26, 2013 | |||
| Recorded | JC/DC Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 19:28 | |||
| Language | Spanish | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | JC/DC | |||
| Destroyer chronology | ||||
| ||||
Five Spanish Songs is a Spanish language EP by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. It was released on November 26, 2013, via Merge Records and on December 2, 2013, via Dead Oceans in Europe. [1]
The album was streamed via Hype Machine on November 22, 2013. [2]
The EP consists of five songs entirely sung in Spanish. The songs were originally written by Spanish musician Antonio Luque and performed by his band, Sr. Chinarro. [3] The EP also features contributions from fellow musicians Nicolas Bragg, Stephen Hamm, Josh Wells, along with John Collins and David Carswell, [4] who also produced the record. [2]
On his decision to record the EP in Spanish, the frontman Dan Bejar stated:
"It was 2013. The English language seemed spent, despicable, not easily singable. It felt over for English; good for business transactions, but that's about it. The only other language I know is Spanish, and the only Spanish songs I really know are those of Sr. Chinarro, led by Antonio Luque. I've been a decades-long fan of how he conducted his affairs, his strange words, his melodies that have always felt so natural (this is important), his bitter songs about painting the light. Something about them, I knew I could do it..." [5]
Also in an interview with The Quietus, Bejar expanded his opinions about the EP:
"I guess I wanted to step outside of myself for a little while. I wanted to see if I could sing other people's songs. But in English I've had a very hard time of it, I don't know why. I wanted to make music that was relatively straightforward in its intent, I think that was behind most of these interpretations. It was all made very quickly, just enjoying the act of making music, messing around in the studio, not labouring over decisions, going in and walking out with a little record after a couple weeks. The antithesis of Kaputt ." [3] [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100 [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | (6/10) [8] |
| Pitchfork | (7.9/10) [9] |
| The Skinny |   [10] |
| NME | 8/10 [11] |
| Consequence of Sound | [12] |
| Drowned in Sound | 8/10 [13] |
| NOW Magazine | [14] |
Stuart Berman of Pitchfork gave the EP a positive review. While he saw the album as an "opportunity for Bejar to celebrate his own Spanish heritage," he also stated: "To that end, even if your familiarity with Spanish doesn’t extend beyond reading the menu at your local taco joint, the experience of listening to Five Spanish Songs is really no different than that of any other Destroyer record." [9]
Michael Edwards of Exclaim! wrote: "Five Spanish Songs is satisfying enough for its 20-minute runtime, but it definitely lacks the heft of his recent work; without his distinctive lyrics, it doesn't really feel like proper Destroyer." [8] A similar point of view was also shared by Chris Buckle of The Skinny , who stated: "With Dan Bejar’s piquant way with words a substantial part of Destroyer’s appeal, Five Spanish Songs may herald disappointment for those who don’t share the Canadian’s bilingual abilities." [10]
All tracks are written by Antonio Luque
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Maria de las Nieves" | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Del montón" | 2:32 |
| 3. | "El rito" | 3:35 |
| 4. | "Babieca" | 5:33 |
| 5. | "Bye Bye" | 3:00 |
| Total length: | 19:28 | |
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Latin Albums (Billboard) [15] | 20 |
| US Latin Pop Albums (Billboard) [16] | 6 |
Mass Romantic is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock supergroup The New Pornographers. Produced by David Carswell and band bassist John Collins, it was released on Mint Records on November 28, 2000. The album was three years in the making, with musicians A.C. Newman and Dan Bejar writing songs as early as 1998. With encouragement from peers, they recorded an album with other Canadian musicians from groups including The Evaporators, Zumpano, and Destroyer.
Youth of America is the second studio album by American punk rock band Wipers. It was released in 1981 by record label Park Avenue.
Daniel Bejar is a Canadian singer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is the frontman of Destroyer, and was a member of indie rock band the New Pornographers.
Your Blues is the sixth studio album by Destroyer, released on March 8, 2004 by Merge Records, Trifekta Records, Scratch Records, Talitres Records, and Acuarela Discos.
Destroyer's Rubies is the seventh studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on February 21, 2006 on Merge Records, Scratch Records, Acuarela Discos, Architecture, and Rough Trade Records.
Pure is the second studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 April 1992 through Earache Records. Though originally labeled only as industrial metal, the album has since been recognised as one of the earliest post-metal releases. Musically, Pure is rhythmically mechanical and features harsh guitars, with protracted songs and an abundance of deliberate repetition. Like much of Godflesh's music, it is regarded as particularly heavy and aggressive, and these elements helped it gain critical acclaim.
Frog Eyes are an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs and are noted for their collaboration with Dan Bejar of Destroyer.
Sandro Perri is a musician and producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music has been called post-rock, electronic, experimental, ambient, folk among others. He has been producing, mixing and mastering records for other artists since 2003.
Swan Lake was a Canadian indie supergroup comprising Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Blackout Beach, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, Hello, Blue Roses and The New Pornographers, and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes.
Lux is the twenty-fifth solo studio album from Brian Eno, released through Warp on 13 November 2012. The album is a collection of ambient soundscapes that have been installed in art galleries and airport terminals. Critical reception has positively compared it with Eno's previous ambient work and noted that it is both relaxing as well as challenging music for those who engage it critically. In 2013, Brian Eno created a number of limited edition prints featuring the cover artwork from Lux made available only from his website.
Wavves is an American rock band based in San Diego, California. Formed in 2008 by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams, the band also features Alex Gates, Stephen Pope and Ross Traver.
Bay of Pigs is an EP by Destroyer released on August 19, 2009, on 12" vinyl.
Kaputt is the ninth album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. It was released on January 25, 2011 by Merge Records and Dead Oceans Records. The album was leaked towards the end of 2010. The vinyl edition of the album features bonus material on side three written largely by frequent Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois. This material is also included in the European CD version of the album credited as 'The Laziest River'.
Destroyer is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, formed in 1995. The band is fronted by founding member Dan Bejar, with a collective of regular band members and collaborators joining him in the studio and during live performances. Alongside Bejar, Destroyer currently includes longtime producers John Collins (bass) and David Carswell (guitar), Nicolas Bragg, Ted Bois (keyboards), JP Carter (trumpet) and Joshua Wells (drums).
Poison Season is the tenth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on August 28, 2015 by Merge Records and Dead Oceans Records.
Ken is the eleventh studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on October 20, 2017 by Merge Records. Band Leader Dan Bejar began writing ken while on tour in Washington State. Many of the songs and sounds of the album were aesthetic callbacks to Bejar's teenage years in the mid 1980's, with loose ties to Thatcher era politics.
Beautiful Ruin is an EP by American metalcore band Converge. it was released on June 29, 2018, via Epitaph and Deathwish. It consists of four tracks that were recorded during the sessions for The Dusk in Us. It was produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou and features artwork created by the band's singer Jacob Bannon.
Have We Met is the twelfth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on January 31, 2020, by Merge Records and Dead Oceans.
Joseph Shabason is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is best known for playing the saxophone. As a band member and session musician, Shabason has contributed to bands such as DIANA, Destroyer and The War on Drugs.
Labyrinthitis is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer, released on March 25, 2022, by Merge Records and Bella Union.
