THE DISSIDENTS / D.O.V.E. - A Better World Split
First side, THE DISSIDENTS. Earnest political lyrics with a melodic delivery. Contextually you are thinking it's crust, but the songwriting is melodic/melancholic punk. Being from Montreal, I'm thinking of BALLAST and PREYING HANDS. There's a bit of synth sprinkled in which brings to my mind Montreal's defunct FACIALS, but really just their BURNING KITCHEN cover. HEARTSOVER would probably be a better comparison from the early 2010s Squalor scene, but at this point probably only 2 people reading this know what I'm talking about. Righteous earnest lyrics delivered with passion, anger, and lots of singalongs.
D.O.V.E. is a band from California who sound like they are from the UK? I believe they are one of those bands I've only heard of from patches. But I mean no disrespect, I must back a 2025 release that opens with a track called "Beyond Speciesism". It's anarchopunk. Although the VENTURES-esque riffing in "Wind Of Revolution" makes me feel like this is more on the peace punk side of things. D.O.V.E. is slower and more meandering than THE DISSIDENTS, so it's a really nice pairing. The lyrics are just as earnest and delivered with the same conviction. FFO giving a shit about things.
It's worth noting that this record is dedicated to Daryl Hardcastle of OMEGA TRIBE who passed away in 2024, and to Bill Chamerlain, guitarist of THE DISSIDENTS who passed away in July 2025 - making this a posthumous release, if I understand correctly. So this is a special release!
Available on DC and LP from Grow Your Own Records. Listen here: https://thedissidents.bandcamp.com/album/a-better-world
The Dissidents