Review by Billy Geary
La Dispute’s debut release Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair was, to put it mildly, a polarising affair within post hardcore circles. Their brutally emotional take on an increasingly commercially minded genre resulted in most just dismissing the quintet as just another ‘emo’ band. However, with the release of their second album Wildlife, La Dispute may have just given us not only album of the year, but one of the most important albums in the genre.

Wildlife is a significant step forward for the band, building on their outstanding debut in almost every facet imaginable. Quite apparent however, is the vast improvement and subsequent branching out of front man Jordan Dreyer. Their debut and many of the EP’s that came before Wildlife showed that, while Dreyer stacked a truckload of emotion into his vocals and lyrics, at times the technical aspect of his voice was lacking. However, on Wildlife, Dreyer has delivered the performance of his life vocally. Replicating the sheer emotional weight of Somewhere at the Bottom…. and adding much more control to his voice sees Dreyer meet his full potential and beyond. One only has to look to first single ‘Harder Harmonies’ or the considerable epic ‘King Park’ for examples of this.

While Dreyer’s voice has improved out of sight, perhaps even more important is the progression of the band as a whole. No longer is the instrumentation wrestling with Dreyer’s voice for the spotlight, this time around they work in unison to create some stunning soundscapes. Opener ‘A Departure’ signifies this change, with an almost post rock beat building up steadily to the song’s climax where Dreyer lets loose. However, it is ‘King Park,’ arguably the best song the band has written to date, that truly sticks out when thinking of Wildlife. Lyrically, musically and vocally, ‘King Park’ is perfect – a jarring recount of a drive by shooting gone wrong, Dreyer paints a grim picture with the line “Can I still get into heaven if I kill myself” sure to stick in the minds of listeners for days. It is without a doubt one of the best songs to be released this year.

Also worth mention is the work of guitarists Chad Sterenberg and Kevin Whittemore on Wildlife. Throughout, their clean guitar tones provide the perfect reprieve from Dreyer’s harsh vocals or alternatively building up to a climax, at which point the whole band explodes in a fit of distortion. Opposite to the trends most acts follow these days, the guitars are the light to the dark of the vocals with ‘The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit’ being the best example, the cleanly picked guitars and Dreyer’s vocals intertwining perfectly.

Wildlife is the record we always knew La Dispute would make; it’s just surfaced a whole lot faster than expected. Hands down album of the year, Wildlife is not only an outstanding record musically, but also in terms of the stories it tells. It is certain to thrust La Dispute to the top of an increasingly stale genre. Wildlife is a genuinely beautiful album.

Review by Billy Geary