The Destroyers – Out of Babel (Destruction)
4/5
By: Chalky
Not to be confused with Polish thrash metal band Destroyers, or indeed Dan Bejar’s solo project Destroyer, The Destroyers are a Birmingham based, fifteen-strong ensemble whose energetic strain of big band Balkan folk music and eccentric stage shows have left quite an impression on UK music festival goers this Summer. Out of Babel is their debut album, with lyrics written by Belfast born singer-songwriter and cultural activist Paul Murphy.
‘Utopia Bypass’ opens the record and is more a spoken word track than a song. Murphy introduces us to a mythological otherworld of ‘glass coffins’ and ‘Methuselah mouse’ in a dark theatrical show-opening voice that reappears at various intervals throughout the album. Although I'm not so keen on this spoken word style, I can imagine a fez-topped Murphy standing on stage relaying his poetic imagery with great effect. In fact, there is almost a flavour of Cirque du Soleil, with its otherworldly feel and fantastic imagination – perhaps this is the visual element I find missing.
Next follows the title track ‘Out of Babel’, a punchy number, the sort of fast paced folk song you could imagine yourself chinking overflowing tankards with your drunken mate to and trying a sailor dance. Murphy cleverly uses the biblical story of Babel, drawing comparisons to the cultural challenges that face cities such as The Destroyers hometown of Birmingham. He sings “From the East and the West/ the North and the South/ they come to the city/ strange tongue in their mouth/ and out of the confusion/ and babble of tongue/ people of this city gotta learn/ they’ve got to learn to sing as one”.
The Babel theme reaches out to the whole album with two unexpected, much lighter, songs softly sang in Italian by trumpeter Leo Altarelli providing an equally pleasing, yet stark contrast to Murphy’s Irish charged tones. The social commentary continues however in the Bernard Madoff scandal inspired ‘Where Has The Money Gone?’ a song about Thierry de la Villehuchet, who lost 1.4 billion dollars in the scam and killed himself in his Manhattan office.
Trumpets, tubas and trombones give this album a jazzy, big sound integrating nicely with the hurdy gurdy, accordion and flute adding an Eastern folk edge. Instrumental tracks such as ‘The Stork Crossing the Dudley Canal’ and ‘The Case of The Dangerous Flamingo’ awaken memories of sounds from faraway lands, traditional tones and rhythms replace the need for lyrical imagery. I found the eastern strings during the beginning of ‘The Flying Kopanitsas’ tremendously moving and possibly my favourite part of the album.
Murphy's lyrics frequently draw heavily on Greek and Celtic mythology and since I'm not particularly well versed on this subject, studying the CD cover for this album proved quite educational. In ‘Methuselah Mouse’ Murphy sings about having “lost the road to Tír na nÓg”, meaning the “Land of the Ever-Young”, the most popular of the Otherworlds in Celtic mythology. And in ‘Where Has The Money Gone’ Thierry de la Villehuchet “breakfasts like Prometheus in Madoff’s penthouse suite” – if you know the story of Prometheus, you’d see how vulgar a breakfast this would be. These are just two of many examples.
It is quite rare to come across a debut album as accomplished as Out of Babel although The Destroyers no doubt benefit greatly from Murphy's prior song writing/performing experience. Using a pastiche of music from various origins, but trending towards the traditional, The Destroyers paint a rich picture of the modern world, drawing parallels with stories and legends of ancient history. This is admirable as a goal, enticing the listener to examine not only the present, but also the past. Not many bands could manage this whilst remaining such a good listen.
Artists in this article: The Destroyers
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment