

With a title taken from a quote about a lethal self-driving Tesla crash, La Dispute’s fifth album revels in observations on modern malaise. The lightning-fast advancement of technology, the chaos of existential uncertainty, the unblinking eye of the surveillance state, the stultifying pressure of societal expectations, and all manner of personal crises take a bow on No One Was Driving the Car. The first La Dispute album produced entirely by the band, it’s the result of far-flung writing sessions conducted in the UK, Australia, the Philippines, and the band’s home state of Michigan. Partly inspired by the 2017 Paul Schrader film First Reformed, the 14-track album is a post-hardcore epic that revolves around lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer’s angsty narratives about the world we live in.