A Closer Listen
Back in 2005, This Will Destroy You made an immediate impact on the post-rock scene with the release of their debut album Young Mountain. The album cover, depicting a large bear carrying a house on its back, remains iconic, and the music holds up well two decades later. At the time, TWDY was an L.A. quartet including guitarists Chris King and Jeremy Galindo, bassist Raymond Brown and drummer Andrew Miller. Brown left to pursue a medical practice in Austin (home of Explosions in the Sky), and other members came and went, but Galindo, and the friendship, remained. Now the two have reunited as you, infinite, accompanied by three touring members of Galindo’s version of TWDY.
you, infinite is one of the most calming post-rock albums in recent memory, building slowly to a mid-album release of energy, then returning to a more languid state. The track titles, from “Focus on Reflection” to “Understated” and “Dormant,” reflect this restraint. One cannot help but think that the music may be just what is needed in the aftermath of the L.A. wildfires. At an hour and five minutes, the album is patient and generous, exuding a sense of security, the ease of a lifelong friendship. The opening chords are like a slow, sedate fanfare, thick haze giving way to clear piano notes, like the contrast between smoke and breathable oxygen. Then the electronic percussion enters, a smooth and steadying presence. Writing from experience, this is great highway driving music.
The duo’s description of lead single “Throughlines,” recorded before the fires, now seems prescient: “an intimate nostalgia for lives since lived whilst also conjuring wordless courage for whatever lies ahead.” A through line is a connecting theme, also known as a spine, present in the life of a story or a character from beginning to end. In the song of the same title, one might intuit the line running from Young Mountain to you, infinite, especially in the crashing of drums and hints of orchestral timbres, as well as the line of friendship, separated by space but uninterrupted in spirit.
The placidity of “Cutter” and “Loop 20” allow the heart rate to reduce and the mind to relax. The drums and guitars of the latter suggest undulating, rolling hills, perhaps a road trip from L.A. to Austin. One might call it a return to the classic TWDY template, a full circle as well as a through line. Those waiting for the loud part of the loud-quiet-loud will find it in “The Elder,” the album’s mountain peak, no longer young but middle-aged, seasoned, still worth the climb. The track yields both power and momentum, the recovery of an earlier vision, but has a surprisingly tender center of acoustic guitar and mallet instruments. One cannot help but wonder if the title refers to the composers themselves.
All ears are going to be on the 11:15 “Understated,” as long tracks are the bread and butter of post-rock. The track begins with a repeated riff that jumps from player to player. The track gradually builds, switching electronic drums for live, adding volume and density but retaining its tempo, as understated as its title. For the power riffs, one should head instead to “Shine Eternal,” the second single, which restores a bit of the bombast while retaining the album’s sense of calm, first through repetition and then through a mid-piece shift in timbre, inviting warmer tones to emerge before the track’s rocking finale.
Two paths diverged in the woods, and re-converged. you, infinite offers a second chance to take the path not chosen. (Richard Allen)
Sat Feb 22 00:01:25 GMT 2025