Album Review: This Will Destroy You – Another Language

–Written by Mike Hogan

I’m constantly amazed by how much can be accomplished with some droning, reverb-y guitar feedback and a simple, repetitive drum beat. It seems like nothing – an album skipping, perhaps – but there can be so much depth and subtlety hidden within the noise, invoking a fresh new mood with only slight adjustments in dynamics. It’s truly a phenomenon to experience when a single non-melodic sound can inspire so much emotion. Years ago, Austin, Texas post-rock band This Will Destroy You took an idea very similar to this one and cemented their place within the hearts of the post-rock community with their debut EP Young Mountain. The first track, “Quiet” encapsulated the prodigious grasp TWDY had on just a single phrase of music, showcasing how such a simplistic structure could be manipulated into a million different emotions – from despondent and melancholy to bright and uplifting, all driven by a largely unchanged drumbeat. It was a brilliant exercise in simplistic minimalism, and it became the hallmark of their sound.

As the years passed, they began to experiment with this idea further, seeing just how far it could be stretched before something snapped and there was nothing left but noise and a broken record. Which brings us to where we are today: This Will Destroy You – now a self-proclaimed “doom-gaze” band – are on the verge of releasing their third full-length, Another Language. This album is the follow-up to Tunnel Blanket, the band’s darkest and bleakest yet. The album was so black and barren that many said the band had ventured too far into the shoe-gaze realm for its loyal post-rock following. So where do we sit with Another Language?

To get it out of the way, This Will Destroy You are still very deserving of their “doom-gaze” title. Another Language retains the darkness that made Tunnel Blanket such a powerful album, but also brings back some of the ambiguous passion that defined the band in the first place. Another Language continues to push the line between noise and raw emotion, blending the two seamlessly in a flurry of reverb and sustain. Even still, it feels more put together than any of their previous releases. I know this seems like a ridiculous statement to make about an album that is inherently chaotic, and indeed thrives on noisy disorder. But it feels as though each screech and buzz is absolutely necessary and deliberate, creating an endlessly deep soundscape painted with a broad spectrum of emotion.

Another Language is very much a This Will Destroy You album. No one else would have been able to make something so meaningful from such a collection of seemingly insignificant phrases. It takes everything they’ve ever put out, and blends it into something their previous albums only pined towards. They album doesn’t signify the limit of their sound, nor will it draw a polarizing response like their last album. This is a massive step forward in maturity and cohesion; the band is no longer just manipulating a singular, repetitive phrase but really exploring it. They’re letting the listener explore it as well – learn every note, feel it, make it theirs, through all the darkness and the light. Another Language is a seriously impressive refinement that showcases This Will Destroy You’s top tier mastery of calculated noise.

Another Language is set for release through Suicide Squeeze Records on September 16. Stream a song from the album below and pre-order it right here.