Destroyer shares new track ‘Girl In A Sling’ with a bleak video

Destroyer has shared a new single and video titled ‘Girl In A Sling’.

The bleak clip is the second preview of Dan Bejar’s upcoming album ‘Poison Season’, following the lead single ‘Dream Lover’ released in May.

Starring Bejar, the video centres on the singer-songwriter’s performance, as accompanying shots present the decay of his neighbourhood’s homes. Intimate and direct, ‘Girl In A Sling’ is Bejar at a literary and melancholy crossroad, watching the girl’s tragedy unfold while he sits helplessly. Director David Galloway has explained the video’s concept in an accompanying statement:

“Bejar sings a lot about cities and girls and injury, sometimes all at the same time. Sometimes they are the same thing, as surreal novelists would have us believe. Besides, people like to see Dan sing—which he doesn’t do a lot of in this video, but he does do a little bit. We wanted to make a video that dealt with central Destroyer themes: to some, Destroyer is a lech; to some, he is an arsonist; to some, he is a savior. To me, he is the consummate comedian, but he resists that role. So we decided to go the opposite way and make something sad, something tragic, something that fits the new record. The adage “comedy equals tragedy plus time” is attributed to Carol Burnett’s mum. Or it might have been Steve Allen. Either way, I always want Dan to do physical comedy, but he resists. He’s a natural, though. He’s the Pacific Northwest’s Buster Keaton, and I hope one day to share that with the world. One day. For now, though, there’s just this sadness. This poison season.”

Watch the video for ‘Girl In A Sling’ below. Destroyer’s new album ‘Poison Season’ is out on Dead Oceans/Merge on 28th August.