La Dispute is a band that I can’t believe I haven’t written about yet. The first week in November seems to be an appropriate time to do so, and the constant rain is just a cherry on top. I’m not sure if ‘band’ is even the best word to describe this foursome. Perhaps group of individuals making poetry a more intense experience is a better way to do them justice. La dispute is not necessarily a band that I listen to a lot. They are like a token that on a specific rare occasion should be resurfaced. They are that exact band to be the fix. They are the record that sits on your shelf for weeks, but once the needle hits it, you transpire into a realm of ethereal ideas and feelings that almost resemble a memory in which you weren’t actually there for. Jordan Dreyer’s words blow my mind. He is able to take me to a place that I didn’t think existed. He is able to create a sequence of words make all the hairs on my neck stand up by telling a story so vividly and interpersonally that I will listen to the same song five times just to truly get the picture. It is art. La dispute is art. They do not just make songs; they put music to poetry.
La Dispute is a four-piece band that formed in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004. After a series of 5 EP’s La Dispute released their first full length Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair, which held several of the band’s most famous songs. “Such Small Hands” and “Nobody, Not Even the Rain,” reference an E. E. Cummings poem and are arguably what the band is most well-known for. Their next full length Wildlife held more heavy tracks such as “King Park” and “You and I in Unison” but for the most part stuck to the original sound. It wasn’t until the release of their third album Rooms of the House did La Dispute really expand their sound. Rooms of the House feels more like a concept album and is fluid and consistent throughout. It holds my favorite La Dispute song “Women (Reading).” La Dispute is definitely a band that deserves more recognition. I don’t think they could ever get enough.
La Dispute will be releases a full-length documentary called Tiny Dots later this year. Tune into 90.5 or wusc.sc.edu Wednesdays from 2-4pm to hear your favorite rainy day La Dispute tracks.
