By TJ Hayes
On March 22nd, La Dispute dropped their newest release Panorama via Epitaph Records. There’s an instance in “Fulton Street II”, the beginning track of the album, where Jordan Dreyer wonders: “If you needed me to be anything, could I even be half of what you need?” This self-reflection is a welcome return to the autobiographical leanings of their debut album; Somewhere in the Sea Between Vega and Altair. While many others have moved their way towards the mainstream, La Dispute has kept the emotional, poetic punch they always had.
Dreyer’s lyrics have always been the focus of the Michigan quintet’s music, whether they were dealing in concept or reality. From soft-spoken to scratchy soapbox, his half talk, half desperate sob has a wide-angle here, taking in the lives and deaths of those around him; this is Dreyer’s Panorama.
Panorama is a study of trickle-down grief. The brushed strokes and melancholy chords of “Rhodonite and Grief” are an attempt to help those suffocating in routine, as Dreyer puts himself in his partner’s shoes, “‘Kill me by surprise’ you said/ I don’t wanna stay alive, to watch the words go first like hers”. The numbness is reflected back at us in the song’s drooping beat.
This ability to convey the daily tragedies that haunt a place is a perfect example of the literary quality that La Dispute has perfected. Each track a snapshot, a page torn from a thick paperback.
It’s a natural progression then that Dreyer has, for the most part, turned the pen back on himself and the life experiences he has or hasn’t had and how they affect his interactions with others.
The recurring pictures of death come to a head in the final track “You Ascendant”, where Dreyer discusses the different ways he’d like to die, “Can it be quietly? Like in the morning drinking coffee with the sunrise”. This makes the record sound morbid, but it comes back full circle with the final refrain of “I will be everything you need”. Hope is there throughout, hidden in the themes of healing stones and gems. Overall, this album is really amazing from beginning to end.
