This Will Destroy You
07.20.07
Club Europa (Brooklyn)
words: Charles Bell
photos: myspace

There are only a handful of bands that give themselves a name that exudes confidence quite like This Will Destroy You. Of course, there is …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – a name that conjures the image of an ancient village recently devastated by a tribe of Philistines. However, after their live set, you might know them by the sea of apathetic expressions in the audience. Rather than vouching for their own “brutality,” a band may simply proclaim their superiority to all other bands in their name, i.e. The Fucking Champs. It is hard to determine what level of irony is evoked here, though, considering the fact that they are an instrumental 80’s cheese-metal trio.

Nonetheless, their name tells you two things about them: 1) they believe themselves to be number one, and 2) their grandparents don’t know what their real band name is. This Will Destroy You has a completely different approach. They are not attempting to exalt themselves with this title, but instead are offering a warning to their audiences. They are not saying that this will astound you, or even that this may destroy you. They seem fairly confident that this will destroy you. However, their name is clearly not what they intend to be the focus of their performance.

It is impossible to discuss This Will Destroy You without comparing them to fellow Texan post-rock instrumentalists Explosions in the Sky. In fact, the band hails from San Marcos, which is only a half-hour away from Austin. Aside from the aforementioned similarities, both are known for their loud/quiet, dramatic, slow-building brand of indie rock. Although they surely hear this comparison wherever they go, I get the feeling that This Will Destroy You takes it as a compliment, just like when people told Explosions in the Sky that they sounded just like Mogwai. There are several differences between the two bands, but not many. While Explosions in the Sky may take up to 13 minutes to get through the ups and downs of their pieces, This Will Destroy You usually gets to the point in closer to 6. Also, they incorporate more experimentation into their sound, by way of digital drum samples and strings. The main difference is that Explosions in the Sky are selling out some of New York’s larger venues, while This Will Destroy You are slumming it in a tiny club in Brooklyn. This band’s sound is simply too huge for the venue they are currently playing.

It is only 7:30 and Club Europa is populated, though not heavily, with underage hardcore kids and a barrage of bearded hipsters. It is not hard to tell that this place is most often home to 80’s dance parties and Eurotrash techno music. One telltale sign – a triumvirate of blonde, ridiculously gorgeous and obviously disinterested Polish bartenders, who I would have never have made eye contact with if they didn’t have all of the beer. This Will Destroy You is the first band on a bill of four, and the kids still seem to be unaware that the show is starting.

In a bold move for virtually unknown openers, they begin their 4-song set with 3 songs off of their new album, which hasn’t even been finished yet, let alone released. They barely speak to the sparse audience, except to announce that they are beginning, warn that they are ending, and apologize for momentary technical difficulties. The first two songs sound like they would fit in perfectly on their debut EP, Young Mountain. They are epic, yet precisely what you would expect from them having heard the album. However, once they get to “Burial on the Presidio Banks,” the strongest of their new set of songs, they have captivated the audience. The sweeping beauty of the opening is as uplifting as any of Sigur Ros’ most angelic moments, whereas the thrashing that it eventually builds into is as heavy and bone-crushing as anything ISIS has achieved on their past three albums.

They close the set with “The World Is Our _” – the only familiar song of the bunch. Of all of their work, this is the song that is the necessary prerequisite for any further listening to This Will Destroy You. Although it is basically the same two riffs back and forth over and over again, they build and layer it with so much intensity and precision that each progression propels and elevates the next, until it bursts into a grandiose finale that leaves the audience completely satisfied.

Overall, This Will Destroy You is not completely original, but that is not a bad thing. There are tons of “original” bands that could do themselves a huge favor by trying to sound exactly like Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai. This Will Destroy You take this familiar concept and adjust it to their own settings. The Young Mountain EP is extremely impressive for such a young band, and their set of new songs only expands upon their promise for the future. They do not belong on such a small stage in a dance club. Count yourself lucky if you can see them in the next several years in such an environment, because pretty soon New York hipsters will be all over this band like white on rice. However, be prepared to be grilled by your friends after the show, because 9 out of 10 of them will jokingly ask you, “Well, did it destroy you?” You will have no choice but to look them in the eye and admit with the utmost sincerity: “Yes, it absolutely did.”