This Will Destroy You
Another Language
Release Date: Sep 16, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock
Record label: Suicide Squeeze
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Album Review: Another Language by This Will Destroy You
Very Good, Based on 7 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Building from their 2005 debut EP, Young Mountain, Texas instrumental act This Will Destroy You moved from tense, brooding post-rock territory into a far heavier territory. A few years into their craft, the quartet had honed a sound relying on equal influence from bludgeoning doom metal and textural shoegaze guitar tones while still holding on to some of the sprawling, cinematic character of their post-rock roots. Another Language, the band's third proper full-length and first album since 2011's Tunnel Blanket, sees them further refining their approach with more intricate, otherworldly production methods.
Based on rating 4/5
This Will Destroy You have trodden an interesting path in their career. Never fully breaking into the alternative mainstream like other genre greats such as Explosions in the Sky or quite getting the same indie cred as their more frantic cousins A Place to Bury Strangers and Caspian, they’ve always stayed somewhere a bit in the leftfield, despite making some of the most gorgeous, emphatic post-rock around. ‘Another Language’ opener ‘New Topia’ is quite starkly different to their early work, losing much of the dark overtones in favour of a gentle build and furious, ecstatic release.
Based on rating 7.2/10
If you're an instrumental guitar band that resides in Texas, people are bound to compare you to Explosions in the Sky—even if it isn't at all accurate. Longtime San Marcos quartet This Will Destroy You have always been their own act, though: they're weirder, darker, and noisier, and on their fourth album, Another Language, they move further away from post-rock into something that's cut-up and quietly experimental but that maintains a strong emotional pull. This Will Destroy You don't rely on huge climaxes in each piece, and Another Language is patient, with many drifts and phases that make the bigger moments seem even more massive.
Based on rating 7/10
In 2010, This Will Destroy You bassist/keyboardist Donovan Jones stated, "fuck post-rock, and fuck being called post-rock," and the Texas quartet do their best to deliver on this mantra with third full-length Another Language. Attempting to channel something they've termed "doomgaze" — a mix between shoegaze and doom metal — the band continue exploring moody, ambient rock that they displayed on their 2011 sophomore LP, Tunnel Blanket. The post-rock sound of their earlier work is still there — a triumphant undercurrent found amongst blasts of guitars and drums — especially on "Dustism" and "Invitation," but signs of a slow move away from post-rock territory are there.
Based on rating 6/10
There is a certain heaviness to This Will Destroy You that betrays the majestic beauty on which the band’s compositions are largely built. Functioning in the absurdly titled post-rock realm of instrumental indie rock, This Will Destroy You crafts some of the heaviest, gorgeously lush tracks out there. Capable of widescreen, ethereal beauty one moment and skull rattling heaviness the next, This Will Destroy You manages to tap into a very specific emotional core that doesn’t rely solely on loud/soft dynamics to elicit false responses in the listener.
Based on rating 6/10
Head here to submit your own review of this album. This Will Destroy You are an instrumental band. They play instruments, but don't sing. They can be loud and they can be quiet. Sometimes they tinkle pointlessly and sometimes their songs are melodious and inventive.. This album goes on for 47 ….
Opinion: Very Good
This Will Destroy You Another Language (Suicide Squeeze) The story of This Will Destroy You, as it is with so many bands, is one of refinement, rather than development. Thus, Another Language, studio follow-up to 2013 overview Live in Reykjavik, Iceland, finds the San Marcos quartet continuing to hone its established aesthetic. Less dissonant than Explosions in the Sky or heavy as Mogwai, TWDY prefers uplifting melodies powered by widescreen dynamics, with an orchestral feel that bespeaks careful attention paid to the sonic impact of the arrangements.
'Another Language'
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