La DisputeLocal support act Stockades look barely out of their teens but their sound is reminiscent of Melbourne 2004; My Disco, Damn Arms, Love Of Diagrams et al. Full of intricacies and aided by the use of saxophone, it's a refreshing stab of post-hardcore that isn't afraid to indulge in melody.
Pianos Become The Teeth vocalist Kyle Durfey is full of pain. His lyrics are dark and deeply personal, drawing catharsis from the escapism of songwriting. Of the band's two records, for which Durfey writes all the lyrics, the first deals with his father living with multiple sclerosis, while the second deals with his death. Tonight Durfey paces back and forth across the stage, but never once takes the microphone off its stand. His waist-length hair conceals his face and he rarely engages the crowd throughout the band's lengthy set. What the band achieve in furious hardcore passion, they compromise in a performance that becomes all too insular.
La Dispute's delivery balances the poetic with the chaotic, as vocalist Jordan Dreyer takes on the role of narrator, immersing himself in various characterisations, including that of his own. His lyrics are considered and at times confrontational, inviting interpretation from tonight's sold-out crowd: “So, which voice is this then that I've been writing in?/Is it my own or his?/Has there ever been a difference between them at all?” he sings on A Broken Jar towards the end of their set. His attraction to literature is evident and there's something disturbing about a room full of predominantly 20-something males screaming, “Will I still get into heaven if I kill myself?” on encore track, King Park, but it's great to see the band has responsibly set up a Headspace (Australia's National Youth Mental Health Foundation) stall beside the merch stand. La Dispute's performance is musically and lyrically dramatic. Culminating in a climactic singalong ending, if Dreyer's intention is to challenge and provoke thought through his writing, then tonight his mission is accomplished.
