Album Review: Dissociates – A Capital Idea

London punk rock powerhouse Dissociates are set to release their debut full length, A Capital Idea, on 10th November 2017 via Safety Second Records. A Capital Idea isn’t quite a brand new full length as the album is comprised of brand new songs and material that was contained on their 2016 EP, After Hours At The Violet Club, regardless of this A Capital Idea is a release that seems to mark the transition point of the band. Unless you’ve already purchased their previous release, and even if that is the case then you should investigate the new tracks, then this is a debut full length that I’d recommend to anyone who likes their punk rock to come from an unpredictable direction.

Tracks such as Ionise Islington and the album’s lead single, Useless Wooden Toys, that are for me the album’s two perfect moments, are fine examples of the new material composed for A Capital Idea. These tracks sit alongside material from last years After Hours At The Violet Club EP that carry a heavier punk feel, and indicate that in the last 13 months Dissociates have shifted towards a more experimental direction, and as far as I’m concerned this feels like a positive move. As good as their earlier tracks are it’s the new material on A Capital Idea that grabbed my attention, and indicate that Dissociates aren’t following in anyone’s footsteps.

A Capital Idea has something of a split personality, on the one hand there is the more straightforward punk of the tracks taken from the After Hours At The Violet Club EP, and on the other there’s the driven post punk feel of much of their new material. The new compositions possess all the jagged guitar riffs and off kilter bass riffs that you’d expect, but they are blended with a headier and livelier punk rock mentality to produce a unique hybrid that sits perfectly between the two styles, A Capital Idea is exactly that, and it’s one that marks an impressive debut full length from Dissociates. 

The Dissociates website can be found here