ANOTHER LANGUAGE

There are several post rock bands out there that use a basic formula and that is starting off with a slow and soft section that builds and crescendos to a climax and ending with a loud and usually chaotic ending. This formula can start to get old after a while unless the band starts adding some ingenuity to the formula, or retaining the post rock sound without even using that formula. The best post rock bands do this, like Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Mono, Godspeed You! Black Emperor (and all of it's spin offs), and others. This Will Destroy You is another band that should be considered in this group of post rock band elites.

They do use this basic formula for the most part, but there are plenty of variations on it to keep things interesting. They are also not afraid to veer away from it and also experiment with the formula. Their original debut EP "Young Mountain" really does well to show this inventiveness and establish this band as one of the best, but for some reason, they have been ignored by a lot of people who love this type of music. The band also gets compared to "Explosions in the Sky" which is a good comparison, but they don't really care for this comparison and say that their next album will prove that they are much different. Of course, there are some similarities since they are in the same genre, but I find that This Will Destroy You is a lot more adventuresome and experimental with their sound.

"Another Language" is currently their most recent album, though there are talks to do more, which is good. It follows in the same vein as "Young Mountain", except there is more of a metallic sound to this album. Reverb is used a lot heavier on this album, which makes for some beautiful and atmospheric passages throughout the music. Dynamics are well utilized here too, which was also the case with "Young Mountain". With the use of reverb here though, the louder passages are very chaotic and heavy sounding, and at times, the effects can almost make you think you can hear some vocalizations deep in the mix, but that is not the case.

There are other effects done with the strings that give the music some very interesting atmosphere. This is really apparent on the softer track "God's Teeth". This one does not have any crescendo, but stays pretty soft throughout, and the track becomes more of a shoegaze style, but with a lot more interesting aspects added in. Shoegaze to me, can sometimes get quite un-emotional and boring, but this track does not become that. The band considers this album to be more of a "doom- gaze" style, taking aspects from doom metal and shoegaze music. Personally, I still find the first half of this album very post rock sounding, as was the case in the past, just with more reverb and loudness. The second half is more quiet, sometimes almost ambient and slightly drone like, but remaining interesting throughout. The reverb effect that is used extensively here, makes the music darker and thicker, almost orchestral and cinematic in feel with a lot of distortion in the loud passages, but I don't hear the doom metal aspect so much.

The album is completely instrumental as usual. The music does become more interesting and varied as the album goes on. I was hoping for this because too much of the same style or formula tends to get stale quickly. Although, I don't find the band quite as inventive as some of the post rock bands I mentioned earlier, they are still willing to try new things and utilize effects that make them and their songs unique. I continue to consider this a band worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of post rock. They just don't tend to get noticed as much as their peers, and they should be recognized for their unique sound.