Interview: This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You by Monotreme Records

This Will Destroy You make big music.  Sounds big, big thoughts and just general large stuff.  This makes the for the inevitable "everything is bigger in Texas" refrence.  Appologies, for the lazy writing on my part, but it is accurate. This Will Destory You talked to me about the new record, upcoming tour, and their progression as a band.  Check it after the jump!

So you guys are about to release a new album, Tunnel Blanket, can you describe the process of recording it? What should we expect from it? What were the influences when creating the new album? The first single is Communal Blood, how was that chosen? What are the themes with this album?

Luckily we were able to spend alot of time demo-ing and recording this album at alexs studio in waxahachie. its really peaceful in waxahachie and alex lives next to a large graveyard we like to walk through late at night. the situation really worked in our favor and our time was well spent. i think we spent maybe a month and a half recording our first draft of tunnel blanket before we went into the studio with john congleton.

Tunnel Blanket has hints of the older elements employed in previous albums, but our opinion is that we have moved forward in our collective approach to instrumental music. it was a natural progession.

as far as musical influences go, we all listen to different types of music. i personally enjoy listening mostly to music made by dead people. or... people that are now dead. aaliyah, dj screw, mozart, selena, mendelssohn, anything with woodwinds, lots of ritual music... i dont really keep up with hip bands and whatnot. we were all dealing with some real life shit when we were writing this record. good friends and family passing away, it definitely had an impact on us and was eventually dealt with while writing the record. i feel that communal blood was chosen as the single because it is an easier song to digest than say, little smoke.

im not sure if there is a definite theme with the album. i guess i would attach these words to it> death, drone, dark matter, no god

What goes into making a song? Do you have a vision how you want the song to go before hand? How do you choose evocative titles, do you hope that it creates almost a mini movie inside a persons head?

lately weve been working with loops. whether they be ambient or not, but generally in a distinguishable key. once weve set on something we decide then where to go. whatever feels right. even if it makes sense,sometimes it still wont feel right. its an interesting approach to composition.

titles have to feel and sound right because sometimes they really are too pretentious. we all like to read and toss around band titles and word names, word games. all that. royal has been handling that for the
past albums. im sure we all have things we think about while were writing and repeating new parts.


You all are from Texas, what do you think of the scene down there? I am sure you are sick of being compared to that other Texas band at this point...so what is it in the water that creates these great grand instrumental texas bands? - Editors Note: This was a pretty bad question to do over email - I liked the reply, but I deffinitely should have phrased/written the question differently.  Oh well the problems with email.

i love the third coast. i dunno what you mean about the scene though. i kinda do my own thing. dallas is full of deejays, but there are some good bands and good artists doing some really good things here. i like dallas because its really easy to stick out here if youre doing something different. and we have the highest murder rate. shit is hood.

texas is big and sometimes very desolate. you generally drive for a while before you get to where youre going. things take time here. were on that slow burn. it seems to surface in some texas music also.


You are about to go on tour, what are your thoughts on that? I am really hoping to see you when you come up to Boston. What are your favorite cities to play?

yup. leaving in about a week. im excited to go out again. especially since we are only touring with our good friends in sleep over and pure ex. then we link up with our boy john lamonica (also from texas) and our friend/producer john congletons new band the nitey night. i feel like its gonna get real nasty at some point. in a good way.

Tour Dates:
4.16 Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth - Fort Worth, TX
4.30 Austin Psych Fest - Austin, TX
5.14 Main St. Garden - Dallas, TX
5.16 Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.17 Echo - Los Angeles, CA w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.18 The Independent - San Francisco, CA w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.20 Star Theater - Portland, OR w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.21 The Vera Project - Seattle, WA w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.22 Media Club - Vancouver,BC w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.24 Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.25 Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.26 Bourbon Theatre - Lincoln, NE w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.27 7th St. Entry - Minneapolis, MN w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.28 The Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL w/ Pure X and Sleep Over
5.30 Lee’s Palace - Toronto, ON
5.31 Club Lambi - Montreal, QB
6.1 Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA w/ The Nighty Night
6.2 Bowery Ballroom - NY, NY w/ The Nighty Night
6.3 Johnny Brendas - Philadelphia, PA w/ The Nighty Night
6.4 Sonar Club Stage - Baltimore, MD w/ The Nighty Night
6.5 Rock and Roll Hotel - Washington DC w/ The Nighty Night
6.7 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA w/ The Nighty Night
6.8 Lexington Avenue Brewery - Ashville, NC w/ The Nighty Night
6.9 The Earl - Atlanta, GA w/ The Nighty Night
6.10 Spanish Moon - Baton Rouge, LA w/ The Nighty Night
6.11 Fitzgeralds - Houston, TX w/ The Nighty Night
6.12 The Parish - Austin TX w/ The Nighty Night