This Will Destroy You has had a strange year-and-a-half. Gone are long time bassist Donovan Jones whose work on bass and keys elevated TWDY’s already sonorous sound to next levels, and drummer Alex Bhore, a talent that made me believe in drums again. The band has since been able to fill this void with Jesse Kees and Robbi Gonzalez, two talents in their own right.
While TWDY fans eagerly await a new record and see what, exactly, these new additions bring to the table in a songwriting sense, This Will Destroy You hasn’t been resting on its laurels. Tasked with creating a soundscape for Chef Jordan Kahn’s new experimental restaurant experience Vespertine, the Austin based band would appear to be the perfect fit. Eschewing the more vanilla restaurant event that a lot of us are used to, Vespertine hopes to throw everything you’ve ever learned about the dining experience on its ear. It’s part art project, part gastronomical experiment. As with most higher end restaurants Chef Jordan Kahn wants to create an atmosphere. Enter This Will Destroy You, a band that eschewed the more traditional limitations of instrumental rock to create their own atmosphere.
Magic Bullet Records released “Kitchen” to the public on October 13th. “Kitchen” is the first track you’ll hear upon entering the restaurant. It is the tip of the spear so to speak and sets the stage for your dining experience. The band’s last two records saw them shed the mantle of everyday-post-rock and set out to create something they could call their own. Over the last two albums the band’s tracks have become darker and dripping with post-apocalyptica. “Kitchen” is in direct contrast to the mushroom cloud melodies and discordant yet controlled chaos of Tunnel Blanket and Another Language. This newest track is the silver lining. It’s the sun breaking through a blanket of purple clouds in a last ditch effort to hang on to the day. It’s a beautiful piece that hearkens back the band’s earlier days. “Kitchen” is full of hope and retribution, but there’s tragic despair there as well.
The opening notes hold on forever and act as the curtain slowly drawing back for the big reveal. Small layers of guitar are gently added on, careful not to tip the balance. The tones are soft, warm and cloyingly inviting. Everything swells languidly and every note seems to be just at the tip of your tongue. Eventually, a tiptoeing pizzicato emerges as if it’s crawling out of the dark. It’s the perfect amount of movement in a song that moves like quicksand. The way it all comes together evokes the imagery of soft colors dancing on the floor as light pierces a stained glass window. You’re filled with billowy joy, but there’s a ghostly edge there just out of reach that also fills you with the uneasy feeling that the stained glass window could come shattering to the ground at any moment.
I’ll probably never be able to visit Vespertine, but if “Kitchen” is any indication you’re in for one hell of a night. The track is subtle and invitatory, which is perfect as it’s the sonic set piece for your evening at the restaurant. We may be a long way off from a new full length from TWDY, but “Kitchen” does a magnificent job of sating any hunger pangs for new material.
This Will Destroy You links:
Label: http://www.magicbulletrecords.com/site/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/magicbulletrecs
Bandcamp: https://magicbulletrecords.bandcamp.com/album/this-will-destroy-you-kitchen
Band: http://thiswilldestroyyou.net/