This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 29, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Magic Bullet
• ASIN: B00109T5WY
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,943 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Not much more than a year ago, a tiny, unknown band from Texas put out their debut record Young Mountain through Magic Bullet Records, a 6-song, 36 minute disc originally only intended to be a DIY demo sold at local shows. It's fair to say that nobody could have predicted the year to follow, one in which THIS WILL DESTROY YOU went from local heroes to international darlings. The phenomenon took hold shortly after a brief basement tour of the west coast with labelmates SPARROWS SWARM AND SING. After a fun trip filled with good times and surprisingly large audiences (this was their first time out of Texas), the band returned home, unknowingly settling into what would become the eye of the storm to follow. Reviews of the album began to pour in, all singing unanimous praise. Even Pitchfork liked it... inciting a scramble for the record at retail and online (the band became one of iTunes' top artists in 2007). This parlayed into the THIS WILL DESTROY YOU being name-checked in publications like Rolling Stone and ultimately being awarded '2006 Album Of The Year' by Rock Sound editor Darren Taylor. 2007 saw even more growth for the band, as their music started seeing placement in everything from skateboarding and paintball videos to cable networks (VH1, Fuel, MTV) to independent documentary films and even major studio films. In one of the most bizarre events possible, the music of THIS WILL DESTROY YOU was present during a high-profile briefing and presentation before the nation's top military brass inside the Pentagon (yes, THAT Pentagon) concerning the failed efforts of Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, the band stayed active on the live front, stealing the show at a sold-out SXSW showcase and accepting an invitation to tour the U.S. with soon-to-be-upstaged-every-single-night FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES. S/T is the second album from THIS WILL DESTROY YOU, clocking in a 7 tracks and 52 minutes.  Recorded and produced by John Congleton (EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, MODEST MOUSE, R. KELLY), it is a stunning and worthy follow-up to Young Mountain.  Darker and seamlessly more dynamic and emotionally gripping than its predecessor, S/T is primed and ready to push their entire genre forward and continue to win the band hearts and minds across the planet.  This is a landmark album by a band that will inevitably be mentioned in the same breath as MOGWAI and SIGUR ROS without hesitation.  Dive in.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good listen., February 15, 2008

By 

Matt Jacobs "Adrenaline" (Trumansburg, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Will Destroy You (Audio CD)

This is instrumental post-rock, which means long songs that take a while to develop and no attention-grabbing choruses. Some would probably find it boring, but I enjoy it quite a bit. I often like to read while listening to music, and some bands work better for this than others. This Will Destroy You's self-titled first full length album is great for it. Nearly every track is a slow burn, either building a melody to a chilling, hard crescendo or just letting it linger for several minutes. The band knows how to play their instruments, and there is great artistry and subtle beauty in the textures they weave. There has to be something that lets them hold a tune so simple for so long without boring me.

Besides the normal rock standards of guitar, drum, and bass, they also include some simple electronic elements in a few of the songs. Not much, maybe just a drum loop or something to add a little twist to the sound. I'm not too well versed in post-rock, but they've been compared favorably to elements of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky, two bands I know to be favorites of the genre. It's not exactly something to throw on at parties, but as a personal experience, it can be quite interesting. I won't point out favorite tracks, because they're all pretty consistent and entertaining. The real difference is whether they build to an epic climax or not, and I enjoy it when they do.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NOW I've been destroyed., March 31, 2008

By 

Tyler (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Will Destroy You (Audio CD)

This Will Destroy You's debut EP "Young Mountain," while it was good, didn't quite send shivers up my spine like a lot of other post-rock bands tend to do. Their songs dragged on a little too much and while it was pretty, it wasn't anything TOO special.

So here comes their full-length self-titled album. This album, in my opinion, is miles ahead of Young Mountain. The build-ups are fantastic, the guitar work is fantastic with beautiful harmonies throughout and the climaxes are executed beautifully.

The opening track "A Three-Legged Workhorse" has many different colours throughout. The track opens with quiet guitar and light glitch drums...very nice, indeed. The acoustic drums kick in and everything goes uphill from there until a beautiful electronica-aided climax erupts. The rest of the song is really an ambient trip with soft guitars and hypnotizing drums. Fantastic.

Villa Del Rufigo is a very soothing, soft, percussion-less and ultimately beautiful track.

Threads has a pretty basic post-rock structure. It is a very beautiful song, though, that's for sure. The song doesn't stop for anything. It's a march forward until it's had enough and leaves you nearly breathless.

Leather Wings is a short little track...I'd almost call it an interlude. With reverbing guitars, a simple snare beat, and ambient sounds all over, it's truly a hauntingly beautiful little interlude.

Ahh, yes. The Mighty Rio Grande. At 11:18, this track stands high with another track that I haven't gotten to yet. There's a steady 4.5 minute crescendo until it finally fades into almost nothing again, just like it started. It then crescendos AGAIN into yet another beautifully full sound with extremely rich texture.

Clocking in at around 7:00, They Move on Tracks of Never-Ending Light is an extremely catchy and nostalgic song...something about it makes your mind wander to so many different things. The whole thing is essentially quiet, with glitch drums yet again...A very nice song.

Which brings us to the amazing conclusion that is "Burial on the Presido Banks." I would like to personally congratulate This Will Destroy You on creating one of the most addicting, beautiful, goreous, and powerful songs I've ever heard. The build-up is done perfectly with truly fantastic chord progression until it drops down yet again and builds up rather quickly, eventually turning into something absolutely beautiful...This is definitely my favourite track on the album. Distortion, reverbing guitars, and crashing cymbals are all used here and together they create something truly special. The first time I heard this track, I was totally blown away.

So, yes, I do believe this album deserves a 5/5. It's a very well-deserved 5/5. Congrats, TWDY. I'm looking forward to hearing more. Buy this.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like post rock........, January 31, 2008

By 

D. Anderson "ezra620" (Colorado Springs, CO, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Will Destroy You (Audio CD)

I bought "young mountain" from TWDY last year and it blew me away. If you are into Explosions in the Sky, Mono, or any Post-Rock Instrumentals you will need to add this to your collection. I think that this album is on the same caliber as "young mountain." Also there are longer tracks on here, more build-ups, and several surprises. If you're like me and LOVE post-rock bands, buy it now.