"In fittingly luddite fashion, No One Was Driving the Car is largely built from analog instruments, losing the electronic interludes from Panorama and their latest Here, Hear EP. The band-Dreyer, along with drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarists Chad Morgan-Sterenberg and Corey Stroffolino, and bassist Adam Vass-produced the record entirely themselves in New South Wales, Australia, surrounded by a national forest; field recordings of their tropical environs snake their way into the album's final mix."
"The discordant riffs on "I Shaved My Head" set the tone for the record, with a bluesy bassline that suggests nothing good's ahead. The gentle strumming on "Self-Portait Backwards" and "Saturation Diver" underscores the desperation in Dreyer's lyrics, fingerpicked melodies a foil to the blunt instrument of his voice. There's hints of early Sabbath, Slint, Orchid-a lineage of alienation that La Dispute carries on in the face of modern horrors."
"There's the woman "narcanned back to life" on Easter Sunday in "Autofiction Detail." Another, glimpsed through a window, appears as an "archangel" standing over her victim on "Man With Hands And Ankles Bound." "Landlord Calls the Sheriff In" follows a woman sucked into a pyramid scheme, only to be hit with the extremely Protestant "try a little harder now" when her sales aren't quite meeting the mark."
La Dispute built the record largely from analog instruments and omitted electronic interludes found on prior releases. The band self-produced the album in New South Wales, recording amid a national forest and incorporating field recordings of the tropical environment. Discordant riffs and a bluesy bassline create a foreboding tone on tracks like "I Shaved My Head," while gentle fingerpicked strumming on songs such as "Self-Portait Backwards" and "Saturation Diver" underscores lyrical desperation. Lyrics deploy Christian imagery and parable-like scenes—resurrection, archangels, and pyramid schemes—and repeatedly reference prophetic resurrection. Sonic influences include Sabbath, Slint, and Orchid.
Read at Pitchfork
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