Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair

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Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
Studio album by
La Dispute
ReleasedNovember 11, 2008
StudioStudiOtte, Grand Rapids[1]
GenrePost-hardcore, emo, screamo, spoken word
Length51:38
LabelNo Sleep
ProducerLa Dispute
La Dispute chronology
Here, Hear II.
(2008) 		Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
(2008) 		Here, Hear III.
(2009)
Singles from Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
  1. "Said the King to the River"
    Released: October 10, 2008
  2. "New Storms for Older Lovers"
    Released: October 20, 2008
  3. "Such Small Hands"
    Released: July 5, 2009

Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is the debut studio album by American post-hardcore band La Dispute. Supported by three release shows, it was released on November 11, 2008, alongside Here, Hear II. through No Sleep Records on both CD and vinyl. The album's title is derived from an Asian folktale, which the album's lyrics loosely follow. The album received positive reviews by notable critics, and it remains as a legacy in the post-hardcore scene.

Recording[edit]

La Dispute had spent the year prior to the release of the album writing and recording.[1] They recorded the album in Grand Rapids at StudiOtte with Joel and Troy Otte and had finished the recording by July 2008.[2]

Themes and styles[edit]

The album evades categorization, containing elements of post-hardcore, screamo, metalcore, post-rock,[3][4][5][6] progressive rock and emo.[7] The album's style is characterised by different features, including dub-influenced bass drums[8] and versatile vocals from Jordan Dreyer, who changes frequently, ranging from shouted hardcore punk styled vocals and screams, to spoken word portions and intentional use of off-key singing.[5][8][9] 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.[10] The album recounts the Asian folk tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl,[6] a story of how a prince and a princess are separated after marriage by a river which they are not allowed to cross.[11] 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 vocalist Jordan Dreyer has been asked in interviews about the lyrical concept of the album, he has stated that although it does contain thematic constants it does not actually tell a story and is more autobiographical[13] and the folk tale was used as more of a "jumping-off point" for similar personal struggles.[11] The real-life connotations of the record's lyrics are that of two divorces of people related to Dreyer.[14]

The first song on the album, "Such Small Hands", is a spoken word track which builds "to seemingly uncontrollable levels".[14] Drummer Brad Vander Lugt commented on its surprising popularity, saying: “We cannot figure it out! It’s just an intro to the record, I have no idea why people have clung to it so much... It’s funny, we don’t even count it as a song!”[15] "Bury Your Flame" is seen as "a perfect fusion of blues, post-rock and hardcore".[16]

Release[edit]

"Said the King of the River" was posted on the band's Myspace on October 9, 2008.[17] The album was made available for streaming in November 2008, and released a day later through No Sleep records, a record label to which La Dispute had only signed a few months prior.[18][19] To promote the release of the album, the band played three release shows in their home state of Michigan: November 8 at Skelletones, November 14 at the UAW Retirees Hall in Traverse City, and November 22 at the Howell Opera House in Howell.[18] They played a handful of Midwestern shows to close out 2008. They opened 2009 with a two-month US tour.[20] In July 2009, they toured Australia with To the North as the main support act, while various local bands opened each date.[21] In September and October 2009, the band supported Thursday on their headlining US tour.[22] In December 2009 and January 2010, the band went on a US tour with Native.[23] In April and May 2010, they supported Alexisonfire on their cross-country US tour, and then appeared at Bled Fest.[24][25]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Absolute Punk(91%)[26]
Can You See the Sunset?(favorable)[10]
MusicEmissions[4]
Pruegrainaudio(8.4/10)[5]
Strangeglue[6]
Ultimate Guitar(9.7/10) [27]

The album is a popular release of No Sleep Records as it has received ten pressings on vinyl for a total of 8,280 copies.[28] All eight pressings combined is a total of 6400 sales of the album on vinyl alone.[29]

In 2012, British publication Rock Sound added La Dispute's debut album into their 101 Modern Classics, placed at number 53. They considered the album more of a classic than Korn's Follow The Leader and Rage Against the Machine's Battle of Los Angeles. Stating that "their debut album was an emotional trip through scratchy punk, dissonant hardcore and broken poetry; it's [sic] strength, though, lies in its uniqueness."[30] "The Last Lost Continent" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by Vulture.[31]

10th anniversary reissue[edit]

In August 2018, the band announced that they would be releasing an updated version of Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair, featuring re-amped versions of the original guitar and bass tracks (engineered by Rooms of the House co-producer Will Yip). It was mixed by Dave Schiffman and mastered by Emily Lazar. The reissued album was released on November 9, 2018.[32][33]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
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[edit]

La Dispute

  • Jordan Dreyer – lead vocals, lyrics, percussion
  • Brad Vander Lugt – drums, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
  • Chad Sterenberg – guitar, backing vocals
  • Kevin Whittemore – guitar, backing vocals, lap steel guitar (track 9)
  • Adam Vass – bass guitar, additional guitars, backing vocals

Additional personnel[1]

  • Adam Kool – additional composition (tracks 1, 2, 6, 13); additional guitar (tracks 1, 13)
  • Kim Rosen – mastering
  • Joel Otte – mixing, audio engineer
  • Troy Otte – audio engineer, backing vocalist
  • Nick Vander Lugt – backing vocalist
  • Nick Satinover – artwork illustrator

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "La Dispute's page on Punk news". Punknews.org. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  2. ^ "No Sleep Records update: Refused tribute pushed back, La Dispute almost finished recording, Touche A". Alternative Press. July 18, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
  3. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega and Altair". Banquet Records.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2013. Ultra-emotional debut album from the Michigan band who incorporate elements of post-hardcore, screamo, metalcore and post rock.
  4. ^ a b Dennis Scanland (2008-12-12). "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair Emi". musicemissions. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "La Dispute « Reviews «". Puregrainaudio.com. 2009-02-25. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Aidan Williamson (November 7, 2008). "La Dispute Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair – Strangeglue – Music". Strangeglue. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  7. ^ Shane Miller (12 November 2012). "La Dispute weaves emotional intricacy in songs". The Daily Texan. (Texas Student Media). Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2013. La Dispute is a band that defies the idea of genres. A post-hardcore band that draws influences from jazz and blues, the group is known to completely switch from slow-spoken poetry to fast punk rock within the same song. While La Dispute's instrumentation is incredible in its own right, most critics concur that its most valuable and distinctive aspect is vocalist and lyricist Jordan Dreyer.
  8. ^ a b Jacob Fricke (October 3, 2012). "In staying steady, La Dispute disappoints". The Badger Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  9. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere at the Bottom of the River...(album review)". sputnikmusic. January 1, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River... | Can You See the Sunset?". Canyouseethesunset.com. 2009-07-17. Archived from the original on 2010-05-04. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  11. ^ a b James Shotwell (June 10, 2008). "Untitled 7" – La Dispute in 2008 on Forest Life Records[AND INTERVIEW!!!!!]". Under the Gun Review. (Buzzmedia). Retrieved September 22, 2012.
  12. ^ "La Dispute – Here, Hear Album review – Absolutepunk.net". absolutepunk. January 3, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
  13. ^ La Dispute Interview (Brad (Interviewer), Jordan Dreyer, Adam Vass) (Podcast). Fromthegarage.net. 13 Dec 2010. 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.
  14. ^ a b Peter Woodburn (November 27, 2011). "La Dispute Band Interview : It's Like Medicine. It's Self-Discovery. (w/ Full Album Stream & Lyrical Analysis)". Redefine Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  15. ^ Daisy Lola (June 5, 2013). "Interview: La Dispute Talk Intimacy and One-Hit-Wonders". LUNA Magazine. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  16. ^ Casey Whitman (October 2013). "Artist of the Day: La Dispute". Muzik Dizcovery. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  17. ^ Paul, Aubin (October 9, 2008). "La Dispute: 'Said the King of the River'". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Eric Mitts (November 2008). "La Dispute interview by Eric Mitts". Recoil Magazine. Blue V Productions. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  19. ^ Paul, Aubin (November 10, 2008). "La Dispute: 'Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair'". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Paul, Aubin (December 23, 2008). "La Dispute". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Shultz, Brian (May 9, 2009). "To the North / La Dispute (Australia)". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Paul, Aubin (July 31, 2009). "Thursday / The Fall of Troy with Young Widows, the Dear Hunter, Moving Mountains". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  23. ^ Paul, Aubin (December 9, 2009). "Native / La Dispute". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  24. ^ Paul, Aubin (February 17, 2010). "Alexisonfire / Trash Talk / Therefore I Am / La Dispute". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Paul, Aubin (May 18, 2010). "Polar Bear Club, Strike Anywhere, Bled, Of Mice and Men at Bled Fest 2010". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  26. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair – Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  27. ^ "La Dispute – Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair Review – La Dispute – Compact Disc". Ultimate Guitar. 2009-11-11. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  28. ^ Chris Lantinen (March 2, 2013). "La Dispute album gets an eighth pressing". Modern Vinyl. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  29. ^ "La Dispute "Somewhere at the Bottom of the River.."". No Sleep Records. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2013.
  30. ^ "Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics: 74 - 50". Rock Sound. (Freeway Press Inc). June 27, 2012. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2012. The artier side of the short-lived DIY movement known as The Wave, La Dispute don't do things by halves. And their debut album was an emotional trip through scratchy punk, dissonant hardcore and broken poetry; its strength, though, lies in its uniqueness.
  31. ^ Garland, Emma (February 13, 2020). "The 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  32. ^ Taylor, Sam (2018-08-08). "La Dispute are going to release a 10 Year Anniversary edition of their debut album". Upset. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  33. ^ "Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair - 10 year anniversary edition". La Dispute. Archived from the original on 2018-11-10. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
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