This Will Destroy You is not simply a harbinger of imminent danger or impending doom. In fact, it’s potentially the opposite. This Will Destroy You, an instrumental “post rock” group from Texas, is a band (Jeremy Galindo, Chris King, Donovan Jones, Alex Bhore) with a mindset of art they want to create and the talent to make that a sonic truth. And the only impending doom associated with them comes to the listener who doesn’t take the time to acknowledge their musical capacity.

I’m always hesitant about music without lyrics; being a wholeheartedly biased English Literature degree-holder and writer, it’s easy for me to focus on the lyrics and only the lyrics. So, when I started perusing the catalog of They Will Destroy You, I was certainly skeptical at first. However, after venturing to their show on Thursday (June 17) at Nashville’s The End, and chatting with lead guitarist, Jeremy, over the phone, I must say that I’m nothing short of impressed. And amused.

For a band that doesn’t have lyrics to their songs, Jeremy certainly has a way with words. To jump start what could potentially have been an awkward and invasive interview, I asked him who he would eat first if he were stuck on an island with Ke$ha, Justin Bieber, and all of Nickelback. Now, I know you’re all answering this in your heads right now – each of you with a respectful and well-defended response-- but Jeremy’s was flawless. Without hesitation, he said, “Nickelback. They look delicious.” (Take that as you will.) He had some choice words and commentary about Justin Bieber, but decided to keep him around because, “at least he kind of looks like a girl...” referencing the fact that he would like to have a mate of sorts on the island. Which, in his defense, is both logical and well thought out.

Still, if he could bring people to this island(one friend, one celebrity, and one fictional character), he chooses Kelly Kapowski, Barack Obama, and his cat. (“I don’t like my friends,” he says. Haha.) Once again though, Jeremy wanted America’s finest rock quartet there. “What about the guy from Nickelback, can I bring him?” You can see how this interview went from potentially insidious to somewhat ridiculous and simultaneously hilarious—thanks to Jeremy’s answers, not my questions--.

On a more related note, the guys are in the midst (or just finished up) a short three week tour through the Midwest, and are heading out later this summer. Jeremy expresses their love for the actual performance part of touring—the playing, the meeting people, the drinking—while maintaining a sincere distaste for the van: “We all hate the van.” As anyone probably would who spent the majority of their waking hours in one. The guys have toured extensively over the past six and a half years since their inception, and noted Moscow and Athens as two of their favorite pit stops during their world travels over the past couple of years—noting that they were fun to play for “really crazy crowds.”