Wildlife (La Dispute album)
Encyclopedia
Wildlife is the second studio album from post-hardcore
band La Dispute
. The album was released through No Sleep Records on October 4, 2011. Like their first release La Dispute took control of all of the production duties in order to have complete creative control. Two singles were released digitally prior to its release, "The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit" and "Harder Harmonies". The title Wildlife is not derived from lyrics from the album rather conceptual themes that connect the songs together. The entire album became available to stream, by the band, on September 22.
The album has been met with critical acclaim. Being described by Rock Sound magazine as "Almost perfect".
was released. when they started writing, it took about a year and a half, which included studio time in Chicago right up until they finished the recording process in New York. The album was recorded at two different studios with recording engineers Andrew Everding and Joe Pedulla. They started with the instrumentation of 6 tracks at Drasik Studios in Chicago, this recording process was done over the course of two weeks. They later recorded the remainder of the album in a month in StadiumRed in New York City in April 2011.
, screamo
, progressive rock
and post-rock
, with an inclusion of more melodic hardcore
influence. The album, with its melodic tendencies and a more synchronized approach to musicianship and vocals, with less unusual time signatures, focusing instead on chord progressions and using less hardcore punk style screaming
and alternating between singing
and spoken word
more commonly, still focuses on unconventional song structures. a Poem and a Broken Jar are noted for using spoken word
and alternative folk influenced melodies to spark melodramatic feelings.
The album features dark lyrical themes that focus on personal loss and the anger and despair felt from watching your hometown decay. Lyrically the album, in the vision of the band, is a collection of unpublished “short stories” from a hypothetical author complete with the author’s notes and sectioned thematically by the use of four monologues. The stories are told in parallel to the author's own ambiguous loss and struggle. The four monologues in question project the loss and the struggle of the artist with the introduction "a Departure", and the three interludes, "a Letter", "a Poem" and "a Broken Jar". King's Park is described as focusing on inner-city gang culture and follows the perspective of an individual who is engrosed by a drive-by shooting
. Edward Benz, 27 Time is the story of a father dealing with the pain of being brutally attacked by his schizophrenic son, while I See Everything of parents losing their seven year old son to cancer.
Additional Liner Notes
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band La Dispute
La Dispute (band)
La Dispute is a five piece band from Grand Rapids, Michigan that formed in 2004. As of 2011, they have released two albums and seven EPs. La Dispute consists of lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer, drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarists Chad Sterenberg and Kevin Whittemore and bass guitarist Adam Vass.The...
. The album was released through No Sleep Records on October 4, 2011. Like their first release La Dispute took control of all of the production duties in order to have complete creative control. Two singles were released digitally prior to its release, "The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit" and "Harder Harmonies". The title Wildlife is not derived from lyrics from the album rather conceptual themes that connect the songs together. The entire album became available to stream, by the band, on September 22.
The album has been met with critical acclaim. Being described by Rock Sound magazine as "Almost perfect".
Writing and recording
Wildlife was written and recorded in pieces to wrap round their intense tour schedule. The writing of the album did not start until a year and a half after their debut album, Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and AltairSomewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
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. The vinyl press...
was released. when they started writing, it took about a year and a half, which included studio time in Chicago right up until they finished the recording process in New York. The album was recorded at two different studios with recording engineers Andrew Everding and Joe Pedulla. They started with the instrumentation of 6 tracks at Drasik Studios in Chicago, this recording process was done over the course of two weeks. They later recorded the remainder of the album in a month in StadiumRed in New York City in April 2011.
Style and composition
The music on Wildlife, akin to the band's first album, incorporates elements of post-hardcorePost-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, screamo
Screamo
Screamo, though used loosely to generally describe music that features screamed vocals, is actually a musical subgenre of hardcore punk which predominantly evolved from emo, among other genres, in the early 1990s...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
, with an inclusion of more melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on vocal melody. The genre is commonly defined with fast hardcore drum beats, complex guitar riffs and melodic singing with occasional screaming and shouting.-History:...
influence. The album, with its melodic tendencies and a more synchronized approach to musicianship and vocals, with less unusual time signatures, focusing instead on chord progressions and using less hardcore punk style screaming
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
and alternating between singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
more commonly, still focuses on unconventional song structures. a Poem and a Broken Jar are noted for using spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
and alternative folk influenced melodies to spark melodramatic feelings.
The album features dark lyrical themes that focus on personal loss and the anger and despair felt from watching your hometown decay. Lyrically the album, in the vision of the band, is a collection of unpublished “short stories” from a hypothetical author complete with the author’s notes and sectioned thematically by the use of four monologues. The stories are told in parallel to the author's own ambiguous loss and struggle. The four monologues in question project the loss and the struggle of the artist with the introduction "a Departure", and the three interludes, "a Letter", "a Poem" and "a Broken Jar". King's Park is described as focusing on inner-city gang culture and follows the perspective of an individual who is engrosed by a drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
. Edward Benz, 27 Time is the story of a father dealing with the pain of being brutally attacked by his schizophrenic son, while I See Everything of parents losing their seven year old son to cancer.
Release and promotion
Promotion for the initial release of the album is done though their support of Thrice's headline tour across the United States over October and November. Throughout their European tour in 2011 La Dispute started performing a new song titled "Edit Your Hometown". they played this over their entire European tour and once the tour was finished La Dispute posted a blog post titled Arrivals. The blog post, posted on August 23 announced the track listing, the album art and the first single titled "Harder Harmonies." It became available to stream on August 23, 2011 in conjunction with the album's announcement. No official release date has been confirmed for the song. On September 9 the streaming of the seventh track "The Most Beautiful Bitter Fruit" was released via SIQ SHIT. On September 23, La Dispute uploaded the entire album to stream on their official website and Facebook page.Reception
Negative criticism for the album has stemmed from its lyrical content. Primarily due to the seriousness of the lyrics in nature making it hard to settle into the album. Other criticism has looked at Dreyer’s lyrics and vocals over shadowing the instrumentation. Alex Andrews of Thrash Hits gave the album a four out of six rating saying: "The flipside of Dreyer’s imposing presence is that it can be all too easy to let the rest of the band fade into the background. It’s a shame, because for the most part, there are some interesting things happening".Track listing
Personnel
La Dispute- Jordan Dreyer - lyricsLyricsLyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
, vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
. - Chad Sterenburg - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, micro cassette recordings, conduit bells, modular synthesizerModular synthesizerThe modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate specialized modules connected by wires to create a so-called patch. Every output generates a signal – an electric voltage of variable strength...
, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, foot stompsStomp (strike)A stomp is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, vocals. - Adam Vass - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitar, baritone guitarBaritone guitarThe baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
, vocals. - Kevin Whittemore - guitar
- Brad Vander Lugt - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, clapsClappingA clap is the sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often in a constant drone to express appreciation or approval , but also in rhythm to match sounds in music and dance...
, bellsBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
, shaker, triangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, chimes, güiroGüiroThe güiro is a Latin-American percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines along the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound. The güiro is commonly used in Latin-American music, and plays a key role...
, box stomps, foot stomps, metal grate, chainChainA chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...
s, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, RhodesRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, additional keyboards, field recordingField recordingField recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside of a recording studio. The recording is typically recorded in the same channel format as the desired result, for instance, stereo recording equipment will yield a stereo product...
.
Additional Liner Notes
- Album artwork and layoutArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
: Adam Vass - PhotographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
: David Summers - Production: Andrew Everding, Joseph Pedulla, and La Dispute
- EngineersAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
: Joseph Pedulla and Andrew Everding - Assistant Engineer: Keith Parry
- Mix EngineerMix engineerA mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
: Joseph Pedulla - Mastering EngineerMastering engineerA mastering engineer is one skilled in the practice of taking audio that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of...
: Ricardo Gutierrez - Recorded at Drasik Studios - Chicago, IL and Stadium Red - New York, NY
- Mastered at Stadium Red