Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair
Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair is the second 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 was well received reviews by notable critics and maintains a legacy in the post-hardcore scene.
Recording and release
La Dispute had spent the year prior to the release of the album writing and recording. They recorded the album in Grand Rapids at StudiOtte with Joel and Troy Otte and had finished the recording by July 2008. The album was released November 11, 2008, through No Sleep records, a record label to which La Dispute had only signed a few months prior. 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. The vinyl press was limited to 1000 copies: 500 each in Brown/Black and Clear/Black. The album has received a total of 10 pressings.
Themes and styles
The album evades categorization, containing elements of post-hardcore, screamo, metalcore, post-rock, progressive rock and emo. The album's style is characterised by different features, including dub-influenced bass drums 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. 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. The album recounts the Asian folk tale of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, a story of how a prince and a princess are separated after marriage by a river which they are not allowed to cross. Prior to the release of this album, the story was told on the fourth track from La Dispute's second EP, Here, Hear. 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 and the folk tale was used as more of a "jumping-off point" for similar personal struggles. The real-life connotations of the record's lyrics are that of two divorces of people related to Dreyer. The first song on the album, "Such Small Hands", a spoken word track which is seen to " build to seemingly uncontrollable levels". 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!” "Bury Your Flame" is seen as "a perfect fusion of blues, post-rock and hardcore".
Reception
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. All eight pressings combined is a total of 6400 sales of the album on vinyl alone. 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; strength, though, lies in its uniqueness."
10th anniversary reissue
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. It was mixed by Dave Schiffman and mastered by Emily Lazar. The reissued album was released on November 9, 2018.
