Sophie's Floorboard: This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You are a post-rock band from San Marcos, Texas that formed in 2004. They self-recorded and self-released their debut EP Young Mountain in 2005 before giving it a proper release in 2006. Ten years later, the band is still celebrated as being one of the best post-rock acts to come out in recent years, and have established themselves as a name of their own. However, to return to Young Mountain, it's hard not to bring up this fantastic debut without making a very strong comparison to a certain other Texas post-rock band, Explosions In The Sky. The gentle guitar arpeggios, reverberated tremolo picking, and climatic build-ups are all staples of both band's sounds.

This Will Destroy You continued this guitar-driven atmospheric sound into their debut full-length, where they crafted even grander sonic landscapes that are as immersing as they are soaring. They expanded their palette to include more electronic tinkerings and longer, more ambient breaks in melody. Essentially they were setting themselves apart from the "Your Hand In Mine" comparisons of their still-gorgeous sound they established on Young Mountain.

2011 brought a large shift in tone for the band, with the release of their second full-length Tunnel Blanket. For one, it's a much darker record than their previous efforts, both in terms of sound and visual aesthetic. It's a little more comparable to a band like Russian Circles, though still very much set apart as its own entity. The band brings in elements of drone and doom metal, with a more despairing tone that eschews the cliche crescendo/climax format of their earlier material. Another Language furthers this, bringing in a noisier, heavier, and more chaotic sound to their now very diverse arsenal of sounds to experiment with. Like any great band in this realm of music, This Will Destroy You can perfectly balance violent storms with serene calms, and this juxtaposition makes for some very captivating and endearing music. I know this band has been highly requested, so I'm happy to finally have them up on here. Enjoy.