Destruction Island
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Destruction Island

| INDIE

| INDIE
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This band has not uploaded any videos

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"AP&R Unsigned Bands of the Month"

"Destruction Island have evolved into a mix of nearly every variant of rock...whether you love post-rock or folk anthems, Destruction Island do it and do it well." - Tim Karan, Web Editor, AP - Alternative Press Magazine


"Best of 2008: Top Northwest Releases of 2008 Readers' Poll Winners"

48. Destruction Island - "Destruction Island Preaches the New Wilderness" - Three Imaginary Girls (dot) com


"Destruction Island "Preaches the new Wilderness" CD"

Named after an actual location in their home-state of Washington, Destruction Island plays dramatic pop music that sticks quick. A rock band at heart, the members of this fourpiece are scene veterans, and their experience leads to a well-polished album delivered with an unmistakable professionalism. Looking at the track listing, you half-expect pretentious emo or math-rock ("Casually Finding a Torso on a Sunday Morning," "France!!!," "Sex With Strangers: Being Young and Stupid"), but that couldn't be further from the truth. Destruction Island is an exceptionally accessible band, but also one with a distinct sound of its own. New Wilderness is alive with strong songs; obvious highlights are rapidly transitioning "Good Reincarnations," twangy ballad "The End is Near!!!," and Trail of Dead-esque "France!!!" But a strong supporting cast of songs helps keep this album thriving, with very few songs falling flat. I am not in love with awkward "Holy Waters" and promising but unfulfilling "Pissing Contest," although Counting Crows ringer "Putting Down the Dog" and electric "Sex With Strangers" are pretty solid. If I may select the album's hidden gem, it would be the warm "Would It Kill You?," which has a nice, understated charm.

Just over half an hour in length, New Wilderness seems a lot heftier. Thanks to its eclectic nature, these eleven songs flow like a rapidly shifting adventure, keeping the listener engaged throughout. Its end ("Holy Waters") could have been better, but as it is, New Wilderness is a very satisfying debut album from a promising young band. Keep an eye on Destruction Island.

84%
- INDIEVILLE.COM


"A Refreshing Change Of Pace"

Today's music scene is more confused than a Freshman on their first day of high school. Band's try so hard to be different the last thing on their mind is who they really are. On Destruction Island's first LP, Preaches the New Wilderness, you will find an array of genre-transforming tunes that seem to draw influence from every song the band has ever heard without even coming close to being just another copycat. This is rock n roll you can dance too. This is heavy without offending the melody. It's soothing without going soft on you. It's everything you want from a record from start to finish. Destruction Island is sincere (and sometimes tongue in cheek sarcastic) and you can feel it. You appreciate it. You're glad that the artist isn't trying to be someone too cool to be honest with you. Complete your collection with Preaches the New Wilderness. Listen to it strait through and put it on repeat. Learn every word and shout along with the band. You wont regret it. - Chris J Collier, CDBaby.com


"Destruction Island PREACHES THE NEW WILDERNESS"

Destruction Island, a newish indie rock band that released their debut CD in April, first made my radar a couple months ago when they played Sanford and Son with Portland’s 31 Knots. A few weeks later, Preaches the New Wilderness – Destruction Island’s aforementioned debut — showed up at Weekly Volcano World Headquarters. That was early May, and the disc has sat in a pile in the corner of my office ever since — at least until now.

If you caught on last week, you know we now run CD reviews every Thursday in the online version of the Weekly Volcano. I like to think they’re fairly dope, but then again I write them.

This week I finally dug Preaches the New Wilderness out of that pile. It was the best decision I’ve made in some time. This shit is good.

The terms that typically describe Destruction Island, or bands of the same ilk — like indie, and pop and the always popular power pop — are useless these days. The brandings have been used and abused, and at this point mean next to nothing. What the fuck is pop, anyway? What does it mean to be indie anymore?

The good thing about these terms being useless, at least in this case, is Destruction Island defies them all anyway. This band sticks its foot in a little of everything.

After an epic, ‘70s arena rock band style intro on the CDs first track, the 22 second long “Saturday Evening: These Alleys Fill with Wolves” — violins setting the mood — Destruction launches into the crunch. Rhythmic guitar scrapes get your juices flowing for “Casually Finding a Torso on a Sunday Morning,” along with frontman Kye Alfred Hillig’s proclamation “Tripped on the light/broke the disco,” repeated for affect.

Then the guitars hit.

Summoning up menacing demon licks that would make the Supersuckers proud, it doesn’t take Destruction Island long to prove they’ve got a few tricks up their sleeve — and one of them is rocking without pretension or regret. “Casually Finding a Torso…” is a song Post Stardom Depression could cover. The aggressive guitar work and Hillig’s vocal wail are enough to incite devil horns and beer chugging — at the very least.

However, as quickly as the gentleman in Destruction Island prove they can rock, they prove they’re more than a one trick pony. “Good Reincarnations” matches a Strokes-esque guitar intro with a bit of electronic charm and produces one of the album’s strongest tracks. “The End is Near!!!” — and its subtle, dusty, country ease — makes the perfect halfway mark for Preaches the New Wilderness.

It’s also the point where I came to terms with this fact: Destruction Island is legit.

(Hillig’s line “your orthodontist must have had sex on his mind” from the following track, “France!!!” only confirmed things.)

Destruction Island is a force to be felt and heard — whatever you call them. They’re my kind of band. They can do a little bit of everything, and do it well. In an age when musical genre names mean nothing, Destruction Island proves why. - Matt Driscoll, The Tacoma Weekly Volcano


"CD Review: Destruction Island "Preaches the new Wilderness""

Destruction Island redefines genre-bending.

"Preaches the New Wilderness" is the band's first release since becoming a quartet, with original members Kye Hillig and David Bilbrey adding Daniel Disparte and the man known simply as Yos-Wa to the eclectic mix. The band itself isn't the eclectic part, nor are it's individual members. The mix comes through in the music, with tracks ranging in sound from fast and heavy rock ("Casually Finding a Torso on a Sunday Morning") to danceable indie ("Good Reincarnations") to even country ("The End is Near!").

As well as seemingly redefining every genre with each individual song, the instrumentation also changes. On top of the typical guitar, bass and drums, there are signs of synth, piano, violin and cello. The song "Would It Kill You?" even features all of the above in a smooth melody. The final track on the album, "Holy Waters," is very synth heavy and in honesty, kind of reminds me of a track you would have heard on the old Sonic the Hedgehog games for Sega Genesis. Truly Destruction Island is not your typical indie band, they play what they want and hope you enjoy the ride.

Destruction Island's vocal stylings aren't typical, either. Hillig's voice is still the same one that made Pistol for a Paycheck fans stand up and take notice, only now it's coupled with gravelly screams and falsetto whispers. It's three sounds that in theory don't go together, but in practice make a harmony worth hearing. Fans of Hillig's left-of-center lyrics won't be disappointed with lines such as "I hope you brought a rubber, baby, I ain't fixed and I'm beginning to think you're trying to stick it to me" ("Sex With Strangers: Being Young and Stupid") and "car crash teeth fully aligned, your orthodontist must have had sex on his mind" ("France!").

If you were a fan of the power shown by Pistol for a Paycheck, then Destruction Island may not be for you. The band was first formed because Hillig was writing songs that didn't match the raw adrenaline of PFP. Definitely these songs are not ones you would have heard on any Pistol record. Hillig's songwriting abilities are in no way stifled, however, and any fan should be able to appreciate the stories that are woven throughout "Preaches the New Wilderness." - Taylor Bartle, PUGETSOUNDNOISE.BLOGSPOT.COM


Discography

!!COMING SOON!! "Colonial Surf" - RELEASE DATE: June/July, 2009, Rural Wolf Records

"Destruction Island Preaches the New Wilderness" -April, 2008, Rural Wolf Records

A couple internet radio sites have our songs playing online: BreakThruRadio NW, Windy City Radio
As well as: KGRG 89.9 FM (Green River CC), KUPS 90.3 FM (Univ. of Puget Sound), and KWDB 1110 AM (The Voice of Whidbey Island).

Photos

Bio

Our friend Brian Cook (These Arms Are Snakes, Russian Circles, ROY) says it best:

Rock bands come and go. There are hopes and dreams, blood and sweat, triumphs and failures. The microcosm of the van, the practice space, and the dingy stage enlarges the tiny everyday dramas of the struggling musician into something profound and epic. As with our own lives, the brief incarnation of a band seems so crucial during its existence, but its death reveals the sad reality that all things are temporary and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But before sliding into the depths of despair and cynicism, one must remember that all things leave a trace, and from ashes and dust grows new life.

Destruction Island may never have existed if not for the life cycle of bands that preceded them. The quartet paid their dues and learned their lessons in a variety of underground acts. Having cut their teeth on the national touring circuit and the small indie market, the dissolution of their old projects provided the base for the creation of something new, something greater than the sum of its expired parts.

With Preaches the New Wilderness, this Tacoma, Washington-based ensemble have eschewed the standard trappings of burgeoning bands and stepped directly onto the path of greatness. Absent are the blatant nods to their record collections, the obvious inner-band power struggles within the compositions, the overly ambitious sense of self-importance, the awkward search for a musical identity, or any of the other flaws that frequently plague less-experienced groups. Instead, they've crafted an album full of distinctive, eccentric, and confident pop songs. Well-aware of their capabilities and well-versed in a broad spectrum of music, Destruction Island's debut demonstrates the kind of maturity typically found in the works of long-established acts, yet balanced with the urgency and open creative field of a band that's just starting out.

Not afraid to borrow from different genres, nor apprehensive of cutting straight to the chase, Preaches the New Wilderness provides eleven tracks that are instantly engaging and continually satisfying. Within those songs, one can hear the seasons and stages of the band's life. And for the duration of the record, it's easy to get lost in its majesty and find oneself transported to that microcosm where the entire universe can be contained within an album.