Episode 25: Jordan Dreyer – La Dispute

La Dispute. Credit: Ginger Dope

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In the world of post-hardcore bands, it’s often easy to find groups which feel as though they follow the paths and trends crafted by the trailblazers before them. Then, of course, there’s groups like La Dispute.

Formed in 2004 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the US group have been hard at it for two decades now, garnering critical acclaim with almost every move they make. 

Following a series of EPs and singles, La Dispute released their debut album back in 2008, with their first Australian show following the next year. 

Since then, well, it's been pretty hard to keep them away from local audiences. Likewise, new music would follow rather regularly, with what is their arguably most successful album, 'Rooms Of The House', arriving in 2014.

In 2019, they released their fourth album, 'Panorama', and after a local tour soon after, La Dispute returned to Australia only last year for another run of shows. Now, they're coming back for a special one-off show in November.

Already in the process of writing their upcoming fifth album, La Dispute kicked off a special series of shows back in June. As part of their 'Five Nights Only Tour', the group embarked on a global series of one-off shows around the world which sees them playing 'Rooms Of The House' in full for its tenth anniversary, along with a handful of other classics.

Already, they’ve played London, Amsterdam, and Berlin, and after a hometown show in Grand Rapids next week, they’ll be heading to Sydney on November 28th to wrap up these exclusive dates before they hole up in the studio for a while.

To celebrate this tour and their visit to Australia, I was lucky enough to chat with La Dispute vocalist Jordan Dreyer for this week’s podcast. I had actually planned to record this as a bonus episode due to our limited time, so I don’t get to go deep into the history of his musical journey, but we’ll save that for next time.

Anyway, check out La Dispute’s ‘Rooms Of The House’ as a reminder of their efforts ten years ago, grab a ticket to their Sydney show, and once you’re done, have a listen to our chat, and I’ll see you at the end of the episode for some general housekeeping.

Jordan Dreyer’s Trusty Chords

Jordan’s One Influential Artist

1. Nick Cave

Jordan’s Three Impactful Albums

1. Hot Water Music – Forever And Counting (1997)

2. Fugazi – Red Medicine (1995)

3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997)

Jordan’s Five Trusty Songs

1. The Sidekicks – 'Don't Feel Like Dancing' (2018)

2. PJ Harvey – 'In The Dark Places' (2011)

3. Modest Mouse – 'Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset' (1996)

4. E-40 – 'Choices (Yup)' (2014)

5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – 'Frogs' (2024)