No One Was Driving The Car is La Dispute‘s fifth studio album and marks a new era for the band. Each song shows the dynamic range of both the band and the post-hardcore genre. Staying true to their roots, La Dispute incorporates impactful, poetic lyrics with heavy and passionate instrumentals to convey their stories.
One of the most impactful moments of this album is from “Environmental Catastrophe Film,” when Dreyer exclaims, “There’s only one direction water goes / It only goes forward,” then compares humans to water by saying we can only go forward. It establishes the theme of mortality, showing how our lives ebb and flow, but ultimately go on.
“Environmental Catastrophe Film” features a strong bassline with intimate vocals that fully immerse the listener into the substance of the song. In the last verse of the song, lead vocalist Jordon Dreyer, uses the analogy of a carpenter’s creation to describe the flow of life, depicting little moments from his life, and how someone must’ve created it for him. The themes of life and mortality appear throughout the whole album, but the titular song, “No One Was Driving The Car,” brings us further into the mind — comparing consciousness and anxiety to being the passenger of a driverless car, then feeling a sense of ease remembering he has someone with him. Although he knows there will be a bend in the road, at least he has a moment of peace before the impact. He is out of control, watching life go by without having a say, but he must ground himself and know it has to turn out okay. The instrumental is soft to accompany the impact of the poetry, leaving the end of the song seemingly unfinished lyrically, but concluding instrumentally.
The album, No One Was Driving The Car, is a masterful interpretation of life. Packed with a signature poetic yet hardcore sound, La Dispute puts their best foot forward into a new era of their lives.
Reigning from Michigan, La Dispute chose to kick off the tour in Detroit, and then conclude the tour in their home city of Grand Rapids. The venue was packed with loyal fans excited to share this moment with the band. The pit surged with energy as the band opened with their newest album, and it never let up until the end of the night. The venue was booming with their amazing sound; the only time for rest was during intimate moments when Jordan Dreyer addressed the crowd. He went on to mention his family in the audience and how, “they can tell you that I’m never left speechless, but here I am.”
Being in the pit, you could feel the passion in both La Dispute’s performance and everyone’s connections to the music. You could clearly see how much La Dispute has done for their home state, and how many lives they have touched in 20 years of producing music. The experience of seeing them live is unmatched and only gives more meaning to the poetry they wrote. What La Dispute creates is art — art that leaves an impact everywhere they go and brings them closer to those in the state that lifted them up most.
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