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.
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