The Daily Spin II
This Will Destroy You | Young Mountain
Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.
As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.
Album: Young Mountain (2006)
Artist: This Will Destroy You
Link:
Naturally, on the nicest day of the year we’ve had so far, I pick a blustery, wintry record - but given the forecast, it’s befitting the season and mood.
Likely best known in the public eye for being the band behind Moneyball song - played at that pivotal climax, it’s one of the most perfect needle drops I’ve ever heard in film. ‘The Mighty Rio Grande’ is This Will Destroy You in the public eye - an eleven-minute march, beautiful, sparse, hollow, and mighty despite this.
Young Mountain sees the beginning of those ideals form. Self-recorded and later released to the public, this is a debut that is short and sweet in multiple manners. At 36 minutes across six songs, it’s not that long a listen (though some of you might think six minutes a track and be aghast, fair enough) - considering post-rock as a genre, however, clocking in under ten is wild.
It’s a testament to the strength of the music here - while other groups want and frankly need their sound to marinate to really get to the crux of it, This Will Destroy You use those tightly-wound orchestrations to maximum effect. A song doesn’t need to be eleven minutes if it can get the job done in eight, and while they do go long later in their career, I think this was a very smart move for a first jump.
Admittedly, I think the band doesn’t really find their true footing until further along in their career, but to debut this way is impressive as all hell.
Rating: 8/10
Best Tracks: Quiet
Worst Tracks: Grandfather Clock