Formed in 2004 in Michigan and known for their spoken word and dense, intense, and visceral lyrics, the post-hardcore band La Dispute No One Was Driving the Car this Friday, the 5th, their first in 6 years.
Divided into acts, the album features a striking visual component and discusses themes of the modern world, such as climate change, existential crisis, personal loss, and more.
In an interview with Wikimetal, frontman Jordan Dreyer talks about how the action/thriller film First Reformed (2017) inspired the band's new release, which songs were the most impactful during the studio recording sessions, the influence of the band Slint on the members' lives, and the possibility of La Dispute coming to South America in the near future.
Read the full interview below:
WIKIMETAL: No One Was Driving the Car is La Dispute's first album since the release of Panorama (2019), and we know it's inspired by the 2017 film First Reformed. Can you tell us a little more about that inspiration?
JORDAN DREYER: Of course, we decided from the beginning that this new album would be inspired by a film. We always draw on other mediums to build larger projects like this. In structural terms, I think that in a way it pushes us in a direction that we might not pursue if we only considered the music itself. I saw First Reformed in the cinema and was very impacted, and I continue to be impacted by the story to this day.
I think connecting with stories and other works of art is almost a rite of passage, because each of these things connects with me at a certain point in my life, and that's how it was with this film; it kept coming back to me. So it was like that – this combination of us wanting to make a cinematic album, but also me wanting to write about how I was experiencing the world.
First Reformed is an incredible film and reflects a feeling I've had for a long time. I think it's a great encapsulation of contemporary moments in our current era. It was a good point of reference to talk about collective feelings like climate change and personal tragedy, and everyone navigating a volatile world in their own way, trying to establish some level of control or understanding of why things are the way they are.
Music and inspiration for the new album.
WM: When did you realize that this was the direction you wanted to take with the band's sound?
JD: We in the band consistently engage with art. We are constantly thinking about what moves us in our individual time, beyond ourselves. Regarding our process, whenever I come up with an idea that I'm very confident in, I take some time before passing it on to the rest of the band. I like to "incubate" that feeling and those ideas to make sure it's the right direction for the project. I think that regarding this album, the chosen theme resonated with everyone in the band as well. And we found ourselves in a place of urgency to create it, trying to understand the world around us.
WM: Is there any song on the album that you felt had a more intense emotional connection, that perhaps involved a more intense recording process?
JD: Yes, there are a lot of songs on this album that I think touched me deeply, maybe even more than those on previous albums. Perhaps because we went a long time without releasing anything, it had been a while since I exercised that creative side of my mind. And consequently, when we started writing the songs, I was very focused on the process and making sure that everything was where I wanted it and that every word was perfect.
When I'm immersed in the writing process, and I think the rest of the band agrees, it's easy to disconnect a little from the subject you're focused on in order to make the best music and the best album you can, technically speaking. But when you go to record, especially for me, I think that's when you start to understand how much you rely on to be a creative person. Being in a band is about processing the circumstances of your life, and I think I understood that when I started recording the things I wrote, how little I do outside of the band, and how much time I've spent away from really thinking about my own emotional life and the relationships I have and where I am in the present moment.
“I Dreamt of a Room with All My Friends I Could Not Get In” was a song that I think I processed very superficially. And I was quite emotionally impacted when it came time to say those things into the microphone and try to embody that character and that feeling.
“Environmental Catastrophe Film,” I think I processed quite a bit, on a broader scale, about what it means to be alive and my own worldview at this stage of my life. A song about personal loss, you know? And once again I found myself in a place of not having processed much about it, until the moment came to say these things into the microphone.
WM: It's incredible to know that, knowing how intense this process was for you guys, I think people will listen to the album in a more intense way. Maybe they'll even identify with everything you went through to record this work.
Possible move to Brazil and connection with Slint
WM: Changing the subject – I saw a photo on Instagram of the band recreating the cover of Spiderland . I wanted to know what your relationship is with the band, can you tell me a little more about that?
JD: Of course, Slint is a band that, if you exist in this universe, you'll inevitably find, because of the overwhelming influence they had, and specifically Spiderland had. It's an album like no other. The fact that they were the age they were and managed to write everything that's on there, and that content resonates even today…it's very special. They were a big part of my DNA for a long time.
All of us in La Dispute have very different musical tastes, and I think that's part of what makes our band our band. We have many different points of reference, but Slint is really the band that unites us; everyone appreciates and identifies with them a lot, and I think that influence is clear in our music. It's funny because every time we're together in the water, we take a picture recreating that album cover (laughs).
WM: Well, we can't end this conversation without the million-dollar question – do you have plans to come to Brazil soon? We've been waiting for this for a few years now!
JD: At some point, yes! We neglected South America for too long, and the last time we were in the country was very important for us and for our history. There were so many good memories, we met incredible people, in short…being in a new place and experiencing a new culture is wonderful. You know, there are logistical issues that prevent us from doing this quite often. Now, we have a sense of urgency with this launch, but we certainly have Brazil in mind for a future visit. We will make it happen. We owe it to South America, we owe it to Brazil, we owe it to ourselves.
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