Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair

Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
Studio album by La Dispute
Released November 11, 2008
Recorded StudiOtte in Grand Rapids [1]
Genre Post-hardcore
Length 51:38
Label No Sleep Records
Producer La Dispute
La Dispute chronology
Here, Hear II.
(2008)		 Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
(2008)		 Here, Hear III.
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Absolute Punk (91%)[2]
Can You See the Sunset? (favorable)[3]
MusicEmissions [4]
Punknews.org [5]
Pruegrainaudio [6]
sputnikmusic [7]
Strangeglue [8]
Ultimate Guitar [9]

Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is the debut album released by La Dispute. It was released on November 11, 2008 simultaneously along with Here, Hear II. through No Sleep Records on both CD and vinyl. The album's title is derived from an Asian folktale.[1] The vinyl press was limited to 1000 copies; 500 each in Brown/Black and Clear/Black.[10] La Dispute had spent the year prior to the release of the album writing and recording.[1]

Contents

Release and recording

La Dispute recorded the album at StudiOtte in Grand Rapids with Joel and Troy Otte. The Album was November 11, 2008 through No Sleep records, a Record label which La Dispute had only signed to a few months prior to the release of Somewhere At the Bottom of the River. To promote the release of the album the band did three release shows in 2008 to support the album in their home state of Michigan: on November 8 at Skelletones, November 14 at the UAW Retirees Hall in Traverse City, and November 22 at the Howell Opera House in Howell.[11]

Style and composition

The album evades categorisation, containing elements of post-hardcore, screamo, metalcore and post-rock.[4][6][8] Jordan Dreyer's vocal style changes frequently, ranging from shouted hardcore punk styled vocals and screams, to spoken word portions and clean singing.[6][5][7]

Lyrically, the album features many themes of emotional anguish and is considered ultra-emotional; its emotions range though pain, rage, and anger and deals with loss considerably.[3] The album recounts the Asian folk tale of the princess and the cowherd.[8] Prior to the release of this album, the story was told on the fourth track from La Dispute's second EP, Here, Hear.[12] However, when the vocalist Jordan Dreyer was asked in a interview about the lyrical concept of the album, he said that although it does contain phonetic constants it does not actually tell a story and is more autobiographical.[13]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Such Small Hands"   1:35
2. "Said the King to the River"   4:01
3. "New Storms for Older Lovers"   4:59
4. "Damaged Goods"   2:55
5. "Fall Down, Never Get Back Up Again"   2:45
6. "Bury Your Flame"   4:35
7. "Last Blues for Bloody Knuckles"   5:00
8. "The Castle Builders"   2:46
9. "Andria"   4:20
10. "Then Again, Maybe You Were Right"   1:36
11. "Sad Prayers for Guilty Bodies"   3:46
12. "The Last Lost Continent"   12:02
13. "Nobody, Not Even the Rain"   1:10
Total length:
 51:38

Personnel

La Dispute

Additional personnel[1][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "La Dispute's page on Punk news". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/bands/ladispute. Retrieved 11 May 2011. 
  2. ^ "La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 2008-11-11. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=626972. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  3. ^ a b "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River… | Can You See the Sunset?". Canyouseethesunset.com. 2009-07-17. http://www.canyouseethesunset.com/article/la-dispute-somewhere-at-the-bottom-of-the-river/. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  4. ^ a b Dennis Scanland (2008-12-12). "La Dispute - Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair Emi". musicemissions. http://www.musicemissions.com/artists/albums/index.php?album_id=9737. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b "La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair". Punknews.org. http://www.punknews.org/review/7806. Retrieved 2010-04-05. 
  6. ^ a b c "La Dispute « Reviews «". Puregrainaudio.com. 2009-02-25. http://www.puregrainaudio.com/reviews/la-dispute. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b "La Dispute – Somewhere at the Bottom of the River...(album review)". sputnikmusic. January 1, 2011. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/40999/La-Dispute-Somewhere-at-the-Bottom-of-the-River.../. Retrieved May 8, 2011. 
  8. ^ a b c Aidan Williamson (November 7, 2008). "La Dispute Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair - Strangeglue - Music". Strangeglue. http://strangeglue.com/reviews/la-dispute-somewhere-at-the-bottom-of-the-river-between-vega-and-altair/10002957. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
  9. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair Review - La Dispute - Compact Disc". Ultimate Guitar. 2009-11-11. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/la_dispute/somewhere_at_the_bottom_of_the_river_between_vega_and_altair/index.html. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
  10. ^ a b "La Dispute - Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair (Vinyl, LP, LP) at Discogs.org". Discogs.org. http://www.discogs.com/La-Dispute-Somewhere-At-The-Bottom-Of-The-River-Between-Vega-And-Altair/release/2741741. Retrieved 13 May 2011. 
  11. ^ Eric Mitts (November 2008). "La Dispute interview by Eric Mitts". Recoil Magazine. http://recoilmag.com/interviews/?1168. Retrieved December 24, 2011. 
  12. ^ "La Dispute – Here, Hear Album review - Absolutepunk.net". absolutepunk. January 3, 2011. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=2197382. Retrieved May 4, 2011. 
  13. ^ (in English) (Brad (Interviewer), Jordan Dreyer, Adam Vass) La Dispute Interview (Podcast). Fromthegarage.net. 13 Dec 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZKsPndaIU. Retrieved May 19, 2011. "Brad with FromTheGarage.net chats with Jordan and Vass from La Dispute about the band's history, their emergence onto the post-hardcore scene, and the new album." 
La Dispute
Jordan Dreyer •Brad Vander Lugt •Chad Sterenberg •Kevin Whittemore •Adam Vass
Adam Kool• Derek Sterenberg
Studio albums
Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair · Wildlife
Extended plays