Five Spanish Songs

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]

Five Spanish Songs
EP by
Destroyer
ReleasedNovember 26, 2013 (2013-11-26)
RecordedJC/DC Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genre
Length19:28
LanguageSpanish
Label
ProducerJC/DC
Destroyer chronology
Kaputt
(2011)		 Five Spanish Songs
(2013)		 Poison Season
(2015)

The album was streamed via Hype Machine on November 22, 2013.[2]

Background

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]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!(6/10)[8]
Pitchfork(7.9/10)[9]
The Skinny[10]
NME8/10[11]
Consequence of Sound[12]
Drowned in Sound8/10[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]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Antonio Luque

No.TitleLength
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

Charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Top Latin Albums (Billboard)[15] 20
US Latin Pop Albums (Billboard)[16] 6

Personnel
  • John Collins - piano, synthesizer, drums, percussion
  • Daniel Bejar - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer
  • David Carswell - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums, percussion, production
  • Nicolas Bragg - electric guitar

References
  1. Minsker, Evan (November 23, 2013). "Stream Destroyer's Five Spanish Songs EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  2. "Stream Destroyer's Five Spanish Songs EP". Consequence of Sound. November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  3. Pelly, Jenn (September 12, 2013). "Destroyer Announces Spanish Language EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  4. Hughes, Josiah (November 22, 2013). "Destroyer 'Five Spanish Songs' (EP stream)". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  5. Young, Alex (September 12, 2013). "Destroyer to release Five Spanish Songs EP". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  6. Tuffrey, Laurie (November 22, 2013). "Listen: Stream Destroyer's New EP". The Quietus. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  7. "Five Spanish Songs Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  8. Edwards, Michael (November 22, 2013). "Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  9. Berman, Stuart (November 25, 2013). "Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  10. Buckle, Chris (November 25, 2013). "Destroyer – Five Spanish Songs". The Skinny. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  11. Snapes, Laura (2013-11-29). "Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs". NME.com. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  12. Pfleegor, Dan (2013-11-28). "Album Review: Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  13. Rolle, Kat (2013-11-28). "Destroyer - Five Spanish Songs". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  14. Gillis, Carla. "Destroyer". Now Magazine. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  15. "Destroyer Chart History (Top Latin Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  16. "Destroyer Chart History (Latin Pop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
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