The bottom line: In a way their music is indicative of the Michigan weather; bitter and cold, rainy and unpredictable, yet beautiful in its chaos.
When La Dispute appeared on the local Grand Rapids hardcore scene, it was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale and dusty room. The members came bearing their hearts on their sleeves and flexing their muscles behind their instruments. They came audacious and passionate, yet humble and totally authentic.
This is what real hardcore is all about.
Forget the fake posturing, these Michiganders whip up a storm that will sweep you away and bash you lovingly against the rocks.
Their debut LP “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair” became a thing of legend. The band’s brand of mysticism was told through an ancient Asian folktale, “The Princess and the Cowherd,” and vocalist Jordan Dreyer’s stream of conscious and shaky-handed journal entries.
It was a great LP, but perhaps one that rested too much emotional baggage on the sentiment of Dreyer’s ultra-emotive vocals and frenzied lyrics. It was cheesy at times, but what tale of love and loss isn’t? And so three years and six EPs later these Michigan natives are at it again with their sophomore release, “Wildlife.”
Perhaps it’s not as big as a departure from “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River…” than I hoped it would be. I will say this, it doesn’t sizzle and burn out as quickly as their debut. Where the band was once searching for epiphany by tossing matches into the kerosene, “Wildlife” finds it practicing more restraint and steadier propulsion; choosing subtlety over ten force gales and blind lips of faith.
These songs are constantly and slowly unraveling to a deeper core through the fantastic guitar interplay between Chad Sterenburg and Kevin Whittemore. They’re fascinated with weaving together sweet arpeggios and spiky riffs, while the rhythm section acts as the beating heart of the group’s music; it remain tight and focused even during the album’s most hectic moments.
Above all, La Dispute’s voice rests in the prose of Jordan Dreyer. Every note and tempo shift is just an accent mark or comma to his long-winded rambling.
Lead single “Harder Harmonies” is classic La Dispute. Even if they haven’t managed to fully escape being pigeonholed as an amalgam of early At the Drive-In and mewithoutyou, nothing would suggest this is a bad thing. Along with tracks such as the stormy “St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues” and the winding and wispy “Safer in the Forest/Love Song for Poor Michigan” La Dispute reminds us just how corrosive yet sweet their venom spitting is.
There’s an ebb and flow between Dreyer’s fantastic lyrics and the group’s musicianship (Stained-glass and the choir sing out that strong and ceaseless chorus here/So sweet the voices, sweep like leaves into the streets, sings Dreyer on “St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues”) that is both relentless and forgiving.
However, things inevitably begin to seize up when the cold freezes the band’s engines. They’re left revving their motors yet moving nowhere.
After the record’s epic “King Park” (a chilling tale of murder and repentance) the other members of the band seem almost too willing to relinquish their grip on the music to Dreyer’s sometimes ham-fisted delivery.
His heart is obviously much too big for his sleeve, so there’s a good stretch of album length in which the band places high hopes on the listener getting wrapped up in Dreyer’s storytelling. It’s obvious they’re taking some queues from their “Here Hear” series of EPs; releases that were mostly spoken word with minimal
instrumentation utilized for color.
The most disappointing part about all of this, they’ve abandoned the uncertain and twisted paths they took in reaching their conclusions. On “Somewhere at the Bottom of the River…” the band decided to take fragmented pieces of songs and tack them together through sudden temp shifts, buildups, and breakdowns.
While “Wildlife” might be more nuanced and composed, it strips the band of some of their spontaneity.
What we have here are 14 tracks, all of which are worth your time. Though the band never reaches the same heights as it did on their debut, it also never sinks to the lows of that album.
This is easily the most focused and consistent the band has ever been. They’re still preaching the gospel of the heart and a Saturday night spent alone, except this time around they’ve matured enough to realize that it’s OK to leave your friends to their drinking and just focus on yourself. While I toss some criticism toward Dreyer, I won’t deny he’s ultimately an entertaining and inspiring performer; something of a stage-diving T.S. Eliot or a slam-dancing Emily Dickinson. Still, my one and only suggestion remains: quiet down Dreyer, the instruments have voices too.
Final Grade: B-
Recommended Tracks: “Harder Harmonies,” “St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Blues,” “Safer in the Forest/Love Song for Poor Michigan,” “King Park”
