This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket

by Adrian Huggins

published: 4 / 5 / 2011

Label: Monotreme Records
Format: CD

Mind changing and totally captivating second album from ambient instrumental rockers, This Will Destroy You

Review

This Will Destroy You are difficult to write about, but they are also an absolute pleasure to be able to write about. As stated in the band's own press release, “This is not an album to pick through for hooks and bold melodies”. Well, cheers for making my life harder. I jest. The truth be told, having been introduced to This Will Destroy You about three years ago, not long after the band's self-titled debut album came out, I have jumped at every chance to drop their name and encourage people to listen to them at every given opportunity. And here I am with the band's second full length offering having a platform to do just that. The previous statement about picking the band's music apart for catchy riffs, melodies and ‘moments’ would scupper the point and appeal of This Will Destroy You. The first tune I ever heard by the band was the first track on the first album (Yes, not the one being reviewed), which is ‘A Three-Legged Workhorse’. It is possibly one of the most moving and mind-blowing pieces of music I have ever heard. As if that weren’t enough, the rest of the album lived up to the way that song alone made me feel, and I can not pass up the chance to state that. What is even better is that ‘Tunnel Blanket’ lives up to the expectations and takes the journey further without any sort of rehashing or laziness. I would never have expected it not to, as This Will Destroy You surpass so many other bands in this way. They pull you in, sit you down and bend your mind from start to finish. Two much loved and renowned bands that share similar traits are Sigur Ros with their spellbinding and magical take on the world and, of course, Mogwai. This is a comparison that understandably at times must be avoided, and to be honest I feel it feel a little lazy making that statement as they both have such a special and unique sound. Both these groups are, however, ambient, instrumental bands,and have a similar forcefulness. I have genuinely never been as moved by the sound of a band as I have been by This Will Destroy You. They do not rely on words to get their point across, and in my own way I feel it more fitting and productive to write about the band as an ‘experience’ if you will, rather than to just thoroughly dissect ‘Tunnel Blanket’ for the right points to skip along to. To do so would be to completely miss the point. One of the strongest and most beautiful statements about music that I ever heard was about this band by the person that introduced me to them, and I think it really rings true. He said that This Will Destory You sound like how it feels to be in love. All encompassing, all consuming, gorgeous and intense leaving you utterly at the mercy of something that is beyond what you can see or comprehend. They do that without words and that what makes them special. I also neglected to mention the title of one song off the new album, but you know what? Just go buy the album and listen to it. The tracklisting is on the back.