Oh my, the new split between La Dispute and their slightly more aggressive older brothers Touché Amore. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been looking forward to this one. I'm sure everyone has a song that reverberates deep within themselves every time they hear it. That song that once it hits their ears their mind darts back to a particular place or a particular moment in time. Every song on La Dispute's full length hit me with that sort of impact. Needless to say I've more or less put the band on a pedestal since first hearing that album, in my mind they could do no wrong. This split is the first release from the band since their full length, and I've been anxious to see what the band has left up their sleeves, since it seemed like they threw all their cards down on the table with their last album. The first track on the split "How I Feel" showed that lyricist Jordan Dryer is not out of material just yet. The song goes into new philosophical and emotional territory for the band. For those of us keeping track, the Albert Camus quote used in the song "six" begins to show its influence on Dryer's perspective of the world. I have a feeling they're next album is going to be an expansion of those ideas. The main idea behind the split can be summed up in climax of the song, when the music breaks and Dryer cries out his exalted question in a desperate plea to reason with the world: "Don't we all just die?" Oh yes, the futility of human life and the they're struggle to gain monetary worth which is ultimately meaningless in the end, and despite knowing this truth mankind chooses to live in denial of that fact, each and every person feigning ignorance of what their final outcome will be. That certainly seems like the direction Dryer is heading in going into they're next full length. Their other song on the split, Titled "Why It Scares Me", is clearly a reaction to the thoughts presented in the first track. He sees the world as superficial and a façade, and he's scared that there's nothing else to it than that. Could it be that just because you know the truth, there is no other alternative than to just live the lie? Damn, you could fill textbooks going into the philosophical questions La Dispute can bring up in just 6 minutes of yelling. You might've noticed I haven't mentioned the music itself yet, well it's no secret that La Disputes lyricism is its strongest weapon, the band are the ones who deliver the perfect atmosphere for Dryer's message, accenting his tortured monologue perfectly so as to deliver the greatest impact possible. Musically La Dispute isn't a heavy band, they deliver that feeling of heaviness not through crushing guitars, but by delivering Dryer's message to us exactly as it feels to him. A silver tongue, a hurt voice, and instrumentation orchestrated to deliver the emotional subtext of the words being spoken, La Dispute is heavy because they're the voice of reason in a world run by chaos. Ah, I seem to have forgotten Touché Amore. Well, they did a great job, these are probably two of the best songs they've ever recorded, it's unfortunate for them that they have to be paired next to La Dispute. Compared to La Dispute Touché Amore's attempt to convey the same messages comes off as….I guess insincere would be the best way to put it. But hey, what can you expect when following one of the greatest lyricists of our generation.
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