La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
Rating
RIYL
mewithoutyouRefused
Thursday
At the Drive-In
Tracklist
01. Such Small Hands02. Said the King to the River
03. New Storms for Older Lovers
04. Damaged Goods
05. Fall Down, Never Get Back Up Again
06. Bury Your Flame
07. Last Blues for Bloody Knuckles
08. The Castle Builders
09. Andria
10. Then Again, Maybe You Were Right
11. Sad Prayers for Guilty Bodies
12. The Last Lost Continent
13. Nobody, Not Even the Rain
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Rarely does it happen any more where you come across an album by a band you’ve never heard of and it totally, utterly floors you. Labels are promoting bands from the moment they sign them, bands themselves are putting up songs on their Myspace pages and begging people to listen to them, and with the proliferation of services such as Pandora, Last.fm, and RateYourMusic people can easily find bands similar to what they already listen to. With so much at a person's fingertips, by the time you get an album in your hands, you already have heard at least a few songs, read a review or three, or (most likely) you’ve already downloaded the album and are now only buying it because you either want to support the band, it was finally released after having leaked ages ago, there's no vinyl version of the album, or you are one of the dying breed of CD lovers and collectors. There is no surprising educated music listeners any more, which is why it is all that more notable that La Dispute came out of nowhere to surprise the hell out of me with their album Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair. It’s kind of a mouthful, but is fitting considering the depth of the album.
From the outset you’ll hear three very strong influences in La Dispute’s work — mewithoutyou, At the Drive-In, and Circle Takes the Square. There’s no denying the extreme similarity between the vocal approach of Jordan Dryer and mewithoutyou’s Aaron Weiss. Dryer has a very meandering spoken yell that is used in much the same manner as Weiss. Dryer also has a propensity to write sprawling, unconventionally epic lyrics with layers of meaning (or, depending upon your interpretation, just a load of stream of consciousness mush), much in the same manner as Weiss. I will go out on a limb here, however, and say that Dryer is the superior vocalist for two reasons. First, the lyrics are truly some of the best I've come across in ages, not only because of the interesting metaphors, but also because of the storytelling nature of many songs. It’s rare to find yourself actively interested in the lyrical content of band. Second, Dryer is undeniably commanding, especially on the supremely epic 12 minute song, “The Last Lost Continent”, where he stretches himself and shows everything he has from calm storytelling to leading gang vocals to his aggressive and emotional yells.
Now La Dipute aren't all about Dryer and his vocals. The backdrop that the rest of the band creates for Dryer’s vocal and lyrical attack is nearly as amazing. With a very strongly influenced At the Drive-In post-hardcore feel and some notably Refused and Thursday shaded moments, you will be overwhelmed by the combination of heavy, brooding guitar lines and the quick paced rhythm section, often being augmented by a competing second guitar, upping the tempo or adding yet another layer to the mix. From the twinkling guitars of “Such Small Hands” to the punk intro of “New Storms for Older Lovers” to the soulful “Fall Down, Never Get Back Up Again” to the Fall of Troy inflected “Last Blues for Bloody Knuckles”, there is definitely loads of diversity and plenty of interesting ideas.
I know I’ve been sick of release after release simply conforming to genre conventions in order to appeal to a particular demographic, so it is very eye (and ear) opening to find a band that is trying to branch out and push into interesting territory. Sure, you can claim they’re just trying to appeal to the post-hardcore, counter-scene scene, but that might be pushing it since, if there is a scene for this type of music, it’s a pretty small group. Go out on a limb and enjoy something outside of what’s being pushed by the various scenes. Dive into the epic storytelling and songwriting of La Dispute!
--Rick Gebhardt
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...or [A-->B] Life era mwY. The song I listened to on Myspace could have been on that album.
I dig.
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Here's where you can download the album: http://www.amazon.com/Somewhere-Bottom-River-Between-Altair/dp/B001HC6OAK/ref=dmusic_cd_album
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