a little over half way through 2026. i lost track of most of the schedule i'd solidified throughout 2025. i've absolutely flubbed my diet. i picked up html for the first time. i kindled a companionship that re-sparked the full range of human emotions, bringing colours both warm and cold to a place that has been comfortably grey for the most part of a few years of being back on medication. life is always up and down.
music is always there.
around 2018, i found La Dispute's "Rooms of the House" album.
i'm actually unfamiliar with the rest of their discography despite how much i liked it.
the song Environmental Catastrophe Film made it onto "my 32" (a CD length playlist i curated summing up my year with music while i was 32 years old) within the first week of it being released in June of 2025, six days before i even turned 32. it was so impactful i knew i'd be thinking about it over the next year.
(i also have the playlist in the form of a youtube playlistš”„ in case you don't use stinky spotify or just want to see some music videos instead)
i don't think i'm very good at reviews.
i'm not smart enough to analyze things like this, but i am a good listener; i know i can enjoy things that i might not even fully understand.
there is something almost sad and slightly shameful about listening to (and very much enjoying) something in a language you can't understand, knowing you're not getting the full picture, knowing that there's entire imagined worlds and complex nuance somewhat lost on you, and you're just there dancing to a story that might as well not have words at all.
however the words do still sound nice.
"No One Was Driving The Car" still sounds nice.
while "Rooms of the House" feels like finding an old shoebox time capsule of both good and bad family memories and perhaps also newspaper clippings about disasters, this one feels like how the 28 Days Later theme makes me feel.
there's something very brooding and intimidating yet simultaneously cozy about it. though the cozy part is maybe just because i enjoy horror media and find it comforting.
i wouldn't describe this album as horror music, but there is something sort of horrifying about its vibes. i think it's how it delves into the realness about being alive and all the things that come with it in modern life. the instrumentation is very moody and does a superbly proficient job at assisting with the emotion of the songs.
there is such poetry in the lyrics (which despite what i said earleir, are actually in English), and on the first listen it all passed me by so quickly with little time to really take it all in. but it still manages to hit so hard. i'll definitely be going back to give them a more thorough reading, but to be honest i don't know if i'll ever get the full picture. i grew up in an atheist household so all the religious flavored bits are lost on me. which isn't to say they're singing praises about religion either, it's just obvious that it's something that had an impact.
it's a provoking listen, and i haven't felt this moved over an entire album in a while. when i first heard Environmental Catastrophe Film i knew there would be something touching going on with this album, and i'm super glad i finally gave the whole thing a go. it's made me curious to see what else their discography has in store.
i have no idea what kinds of people listen to La Dispute. i don't know if i know anyone that would be similarly inspired after listening. i'm unsure anyone will even be reading this. but something activated in my brain and it felt like a good opportunity to write about it and make my first blog post here. i leave on an excerpt from one of the spoken word samples that was in Top Sellers Banquet:
You must die
I must die
In view of that
Where will you place your energy?
Where will you set your ambitions?
Where will be your goals?
How will your aim be determined?
What will be your seeking?