The Dissidents/D.O.V.E. – A Better World

LP | CD | DL | Streaming

Out 19 Sept 2025 available here

The latest Grow Your Own is a lesson from America in how to write great catchy melodic modern anarcho-punk with women playing a leading role. It also sends out a beacon of hope in these dark times, says Nathan Brown.

Already being acquainted with The Dissidents via their split EP with Vitriolic Response and D.O.V.E. via their album on Grow Your Own, I would have put money on this being a great release. I would have been quids in, because it is bright and refreshing, and while the album deals lyrically with some of the negatives of society it puts forward an agenda for change. Grow Your Own keep delivering quality releases and in bringing together two bands from opposite coasts of the USA, they have delivered up a lesson in how to write great anarcho-punk tunes led by womens’ voices.

The first thing that strikes you about The Dissidents from Philadelphia is that they have a punishing rhythm section that pushes into the red. A double guitar attack switches between waves of power and a knitted melodic patchwork of arpeggios that floats over you. There’s also occasionally some keyboards just to add to the atmosphere. This full sound backs up three women’s voices with a lot to say. The bulk of the songs are variations on a theme about the state of their homeland as it slides closer to the abyss, calling for a better world.

Although a band in their own right, The Dissidents have a fine pedigree. Among their number is Bill from The Pist, Mankind? Behind Enemy Lines and a host of other bands – who sadly passed away in July of this year. The band also features Janine and Nicole from Witch Hunt.

No Air is one of those anthemic type songs that builds and builds, developing into a wall of sound. Very similar to the style of US bands of old like Defiance, and The Pist. The chanted vocals “No Justice No Air” make for a great singalong moment in a strong opening salvo.

Swamp Song is far more melodic, as are the rest of The Dissidents’ songs on this release. The wavering vocal melodies, and even some of the underlying tunes, carry a hint of old folk songs. The way the vocal melodies work with the tune is not dissimilar to Oregon anarcho-punks of yesteryear Harum Scarum.

Rampaging bass and drums lead the fray on Damned Nation while cheeky lead guitar breaks introduce each verse. The shared vocals on the chorus again work to really good effect. History Repeats keeps up the pace and the repeated line “History Repeats” with vocal lines cutting across it is really effective.

The defiance of Twisted Cell in the face of health complications sounds out the message “You can’t kill me” with another catchy chant on top of a catchy chorus. The Dissidents know how to write a tune.

A.C.A.C. – All Cops Are…Culpable, not the C word you were thinking of! While there is a tongue in cheek nod to the more sweary connotation, The Dissidents are making a serious point about the murderous actions of the cops in the USA. The key message “No good cops in a racist system” makes it clear that it’s not just individual aberration or a few rotten apples spoiling the barrel that ends in racist murders by cops. The problem is systemic. Sound familiar?

Sinister Transmissions dismantles dubious conspiracy theories, pointing out that there is enough real shit to be scared of: “You can’t make up how bad things are. What greed inspires is worse by far”. I totally get where this is coming from. Wild conspiracy theories provide such a smokescreen that when a real conspiracy of silence or cover up is revealed it is easier for the powers that be to dismiss it as “tin foil hat” conspiracy. The conspiracy theorists create the conditions for real conspiracies to be smuggled through in plain sight.

The final song from The Dissidents, Endless War, looks to a positive future when the cycle of violence – in Palestine in particular – can be broken. It’s a moving song. Already poignant with the Arabic reading of the poem “The Deluge and the Tree”, it was also destined to be the last song from Bill Chamberlain. A heartbreaking yet positive Facebook message also shared on Bandcamp from Rachel, The Dissidents singer/keyboard player and Bill’s wife, sets out her loss but also celebrates Endless War – what would be his last song. Please take the time to read it.

Listen to Endless War by The Dissidents

Grow Your Own have given us a great recording from The Dissidents. While it is a sad reminder what the punk scene lost when Bill died earlier this year, it’s also a celebration of what he excelled at. His work proliferates among mine and many other people’s record collections but if this had been his only release it would have been a fine legacy.

Yet there is more! As a stand alone release this would have been worth shouting from the rooftops about, but the flip side by D.O.V.E. is a fitting partner.

D.O.V.E. start off with a heavy damped guitar and pounding drums, a little heavier than I was expecting. The somewhat echoey guitar also picks out single note solos and in places is quite tinny giving this a bit of the DIRT sound. As Beyond Speciesism (the title tells you what it is about) develops the guitar becomes more jagged and also reminds me of 80s Bournemouth punks Mad Are Sane among others.

Possession is a fast shouty punky street punk number which is stylistically not dissimilar to The Dissidents No Air. Pounding drums slow down for an atmospheric chorus with echo on the vocals as well as the guitar before speeding up again for the next verse, focusing on the desire of man to control the natural world and human beings.

The wish for a more natural world (“Out of concrete flowers bloom”) continues with (A) Garden and has a dose of Siouxsie and the Banshees aesthetic, as I remarked on their 2023 album (a few copies still available so grab one while you can). It’s there in the rumbling roaming rhythm section, the vocals and the washy arpeggio guitar. There is also a touch of some of the more melodic 80s anarcho bands who dabbled in post-punk.

The surfy guitar, rumbling toms and wavering vocal of Wind Of Revolution draws on the Californian DNA of the band. I’m hearing a 60s and 70s vibe, and to be honest the whole idea of a revolution blowing in fits with that counter-cultural period (Blowing In The Wind, anyone?). A snatch of a speech from a protest closes this number, drawing connections between attacks in Palestine and arms dealers.

The song D.O.V.E. stands as a reminder that small individual acts do make a difference. Starting melancholy and slow, with the bass providing the backbone, this tune washes over you sounding sad or resigned to fate but then builds into something more upbeat and exuberant which sounds more hopeful. The melodic yet upbeat, occasionally frantic, approach has me thinking of Zounds at their best. The “love over hate” message is in tune with the Zounds vibe as well, alongside Omega Tribe with whom D.O.V.E. toured down the West Coast. And what does D.O.V.E. stand for? It’s revealed in the last line: “Destroying Oppression and Violence Everywhere”.

Another melodic number reminiscent of Zounds and Omega Tribe, Peace by Piece, is a slow burner. It fades to closes the album on a peaceful note and the spoken vocal speaks to the idea that lots of small acts build into a wave or wind of change. In this case the metaphor is a whisper growing into a vibration. On this occasion D.O.V.E. stands for “Destroy Oppression, Visualise Empathy.”

Kicking off with the rambunctious Dissidents and closing on the peaceful D.O.V.E. this album has been a joy to listen to and has held up my reviewing schedule with all its repeated plays.

While the bands have somewhat different approaches, they fit well together. By virtue of their sound as well as their message, both fit within the broad anarcho-punk family but with their own style. The shared meta-message across the songs laid out on the lyric sheet is that a better world is possible. The poster that comes with this release underlines this message. It puts billionaire handshakes over factory farms and a scene of bombed landscape with the straightforward question “Will you watch history repeat or fight for a better world?”. Well, will you?

Available to buy or stream from Grow Your Own

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Words by Nathan Brown. You can read more from Nathan on his Louder Than War archive over here.