Touche Amore/La Dispute - Searching For A Pulse/The Weight Of The World

It should be considered a pinnacle point for the screamo scene (yes, real screamo) for two bands considered to be at the forefront of their scene to end up on a split together. However, the split between Touche Amore and La Dispute is not just your run of the mill project between two bands wanting to share a release together. It is in fact a testament to the idea of the split that the members of both of these bands pulled out all of the stops to create a cohesive experience that blended the sounds, vocals and artwork of each half into one solid whole. In the four songs pressed into this seven inches of vinyl, Touche Amore and La Dispute stake their claims as not only two of the most passionate bands in music today, but as two of the strongest songwriting collectives in the re-emerging screamo scene.

Everything inside of this split has to do with continuity and weaving together two sets of ideas. Each band's vocalist guest spots on the other bands songs. Each band had a member contribute to the artwork of the split. Each band pushed themselves to write outside of their normal timbre of sound. This pursuit of oneness shines through each track, as the experience feels unfamiliar if not completed as a whole.

Touche Amore's two cuts ("I'll Get My Just Deserve","I'll Deserve Just That") move towards a somewhat unfamiliar understanding of flowing melodies without losing the grit that makes a usual TA track. The blasting drums are still there. The abrasive vocals still ring out with sincerity. Yet, "I'll Deserve Just That" is one of the softest Touche tracks you'll probably ever hear – and that isn't too say it sounds out of place. Still, these tracks are very much Touche Amore, including their short running time of less than two minutes a piece.

Likewise, La Dispute’s two tracks sound like a bridge between their two full-lengths, combining the overall abrasive nature of Vancouver with spurts of melodic passages as heard throughout Somewhere At The Bottom Of The River Between Vega And Altair. Both wrap themselves around a similar lyrical idea of the innermost feelings about life and what happens after, making Jordan’s usually passionate delivery hit even harder than usual. Both “How I Feel” and “Why It Scares Me” show the band at the top of their game both lyrically and musically. It is difficult to pick a “winner” for this split, but La Dispute might be my pick if only by a hair.

In this end, this is arguably the best split to come out in quite some time - not only for its musical contents but also for the way in which these two bands went about presenting their combined efforts. These two bands have shown us again why friendship between bands should not just be stopped at touring and partying together.

Touche Amore/La Dispute
Searching For A Pulse/The Weight Of The World
No Sleep Records
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