The style of music Michigan-based La Dispute had originally crafted together with their freshman release, “Vancouver,” in 2006 is vastly different from the direction that the five-piece has shifted toward with their most recent release, “Rooms of the House”; however, a sold out show Saturday, April 5, at the Metro made it clear that fans were adjusting rather well to the new style.
A large range of genres made an appearance at the Metro as the opening act, Mansions, brought the most mellow, lighthearted approach with their three-piece arrangement. Contrary to mellow Mansions, the band Pianos Become the Teeth followed up next with the heaviest, most abrasive sound of the three bands while utilizing catchy guitar riffs coupled with a full sounding percussion and bass section. As for the main act, La Dispute has constructed a musically complex, while still heavy, style that greatly relies on each instrument to convey their intended message.
To kick things off, Mansions dove right into things with the first song “Climbers” off their newest LP entitled “Doom Loop,” which was just released last year. Although similar to their previous releases, the new LP has shifted away from the angsty, boyish themes evident in songs such as “Blackest Sky” and has ventured toward a more mature approach that accurately reflects the man that frontman Christopher Browder had previously alluded to with his youthful lyricism in his earlier work.
Generally mellow, Mansions weaved through a melodic set list that was highlighted by songs such as “City Don’t Care,” a hit from their 2011 full length “Dig Up the Dead.” After a grungy, fuzzy fade out, Browder quickly thanked the crowd for showing up early and plunged into their final track, “The Economist.” With a lo-fi rock-influenced riff to start the song, the crowd suddenly gained a burst of energy, which would prove to be a much needed boost with who was about to step foot on stage.
Wasting no time at all, Baltimore-based, post-hardcore band Pianos Become the Teeth started their set with a song that doesn’t typically appear on their set lists. The rumbling drums that begin “Liquid Courage” aroused goosebumps in the crowd while also giving them a brutal insight into the struggles that lead singer Kyle Durfey felt after the death of his father. A motionless audience was almost fitting as “And on Memorial Day, I Started Drinking” rattled from Durfey’s mouth and silenced the crowd until the beginning riffs of “I’ll Be Damned” shook the crowd awake.
Almost intentionally, the band left little room for conversation as each song flowed smoothly, well maybe just quickly, into the next. With a new LP in the works that has no set release date, the band showcased an unreleased song, “Lesions,” that veered away from their screamo based approach of the past and featured Durfey singing more than before. Before long, the soft, harmonious riff that begins their latest release, “Hiding”, capped off a quick, but emotional set that generated an appropriate atmosphere for La Dispute to enter.
One unique aspect of the recent LP from Michigan natives, La Dispute, is the fact that the album is entirely fictional. Sure, the themes that are depicted and played out are every bit as alive and tangible as before in the way that Dreyer chooses to articulate them, but the stories themselves are imaginary narratives.