you, infinite – you, infinite
Release Date: 28th February 2025
Label: Pelagic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Rock, Instrumental.
FFO: This Will Destroy You, Mogwai, Mono, Caspian, We Lost The Sea.
Review By: John Newlands
you, infinite reunites Jeremy Galindo and Raymond Brown, two of the original founders of instrumental group This Will Destroy You (TWDY), in a new project after Brown left the band in 2008 to follow a new career path. Something happened in the world around 2020 (who knows wtf that was?!?) that allowed Brown time to focus on music, new ideas and melodies and share them with his friend Galindo. The pair worked on the you, infinite project from 2021 until its completion in 2024 when added to the Pelagic roster.
In a way it is a surprising match for Pelagic Records, I would have anticipated a label such as Dunk! would be more fitting, however, after a little digging around on the inter-webs I discovered that Galindo’s version of TWDY (other founder Chris King has his own version of the band with a different line-up, and they play different material of the TWDY back catalogue) has toured with Pelagic in 2024, so in a way, it works.
So, more importantly, what does it sound like?
Well, in short, it’s bloody marvellous. It’s not a million miles away from TWDY, but that is not an issue for a longtime fan such as me. The production here is, as expected, immaculate. The use of instrumentation is lush, articulate, full and every track is delightful to listen to.
The use of dynamics, instrumentation layering and space is top-notch. The gentler quieter sections tug at the heartstrings, conjure imagery of beautiful landscapes, space travel or floating in dream-state while jarring crushing heavy sections wake you to your senses and break your heart and fly you into the centre of a sun while still retaining their beauty.
The lead singles on you, infinite are Throughlines, The Elder & Shine Eternal, chosen perhaps due to their immediate likeability, accessibility and more upbeat tempos. These tracks are a little less, slow-burn and thus stand out a little more in the mix of the album. Lead single Throughlines is beautiful and, to me, verges on being the perfect post-rock song. I fell asleep to this track every night for 3 weeks after its initial release, and have probably played it once a day since then. It has complimented my feelings of sorrow, joy, hope, elation and everything in-between.
As mentioned, you, infinite sits firmly in the post-rock, shoegaze genre that its authors came from, and it would be foolish to not recognise the impact that This Will Destroy You has had on the outcome, however, at times the album does nod towards influence from artists such as Mogwai, Sigur Ros and Mouse Parade. Not a bad thing at all!!
If I had to make them, I have two very small criticisms of you, infinite. One would be the closeness to its author’s original band, however, that is to be expected given who they are and the ideas they cultivate together, but I would perhaps have liked to see boundaries pushed a little bit further away from home. Second, would be the run-time. At 1hr 5 min, it’s clearly not a quick spin and may lose some listeners not accustomed to the pacing and length of a post-rock release.
However, for anyone that does enjoy instrumental post-rock, or perhaps even instrumental post-metal, then this is absolutely worth your time listening to. This album feels like an accumulation of ideas, feelings and explored motifs that when played at the right time and in the right mood, it is an incredibly enjoyable, rewarding and emotive listen.
My pre-ordered record can’t arrive in the post soon enough!
(4.5 / 5)
