ANOTHER LANGUAGE

This Will Destroy You is one of those bands that I feel you either love or hate. To a blind ear they may just seem like your stereotypical post rock group trying to be like Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai, but when looked at closely they are actually quite unique. Sure, they may not reinvent the wheel, and they may not be as experimental or groundbreaking as Swans or 65daysofstatic, but This Will Destroy You is a band that can ultimately put out some incredible tunes when they get the ball rolling. I think they have some excellent songs on their first and second albums of Young Mountain and their self titled, but I think Another Language, their fourth album, is kind of an underdog in their catalog of great releases.

Another Language was kind of a return to form for the band after their more ambient Tunnel Blanket, but unlike their self titled and Young Mountain they decided to combine their ambient workings of Tunnel Blanket with their energetic post rock, and I think this direction adds a bit of charm to the band's output on here. Many of these songs are quiet, and very patient with what they are trying to achieve, like most post rock stuff, but I find This Will Destroy You has a bit more energy in these quieter moments, often going a bit more melodic, which I like, as well as going a tad more harder and louder on the crescendos, almost to the point where they dip their feet in the murky post metal waters.

I think what makes this album very fun to listen to is how the band bends and shapes their music with each song. While on first listens each song may feel like a carbon copy from one another, on a closer look I found these tracks to truly be each of their own craft. Sure, each song may be wearing a tuxedo to the party, but they all bought different brands and sizes of those tuxedos. Some songs are more ambient and some are more bombastic; some songs are more somber and some are more aggressive. It creates this balance of high beauty and high energy, that a song on here can be good for any occasion and vibe. That is what I find most enjoyable about This Will Destroy You in general, they can shift between these beautiful and haunting melodies and atmospheres, too these really eventful pieces of miraculous energy on a dime that it makes them feel like a roller coaster in post rock form.

I will say however that, while I may like the more ambient pieces here, they are definitely the weakest parts of the album for me. The Puritan, and God's Teeth are particular here since I feel like these tracks were made for the sake of adding more tracks than necessary. God's Teeth is probably the worst here as I feel like the track before it, Memory Loss, should've been the closer as it has a more finale feel to it, and it has a good feel at that. God's Teeth just doesn't quite feel like a suitable, or in fact, necessary closer for this album.

I will also say that I feel the album to be a bit top heavy, since the first four tracks are some of the best the band has created in my mind, but tracks afterwards, besides Memory Loss, I feel aren't as good. It ain't the end of the world, but I just wish the track listings here were a bit better.

Overall I think this is a good and underrated album from the band. It may not be as stellar as Young Mountain, or really really excellent like their self-titled, but I do think it certainly has a place up on the This Will Destroy You throne.

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