The Assist Rise Up To The Challenge Of The Sophomore Album With New Single ‘Disconnections’

In a music landscape increasingly saturated with heavily-produced songs clearly meant for the studio, there is a particular pleasure in finding a band that has a clear focus on playing live – a band that writes music for the stage, the kind of songs that truly come alive through the interaction with a live audience, and even more so in the more intimate context of a grassroots venue. 

Enter The Assist, a five-piece out of Walsall whose energetic brand of alt-rock is clearly meant to channel the power of a crowded club. 

Their familiarity with the live circuit was one of the forces behind their impressive debut album, ‘Council Pop’, delivered in 2022 as live music in the UK was recovering from the crippling lockdown. The title felt like a manifesto, both in reclaiming the working-class background of the band and in defining the kind of music they were setting out to make: yet from the very beginnings The Assist have felt considerably more rock than pop, with a big sound heavy on the guitars and a love of rough edges. 

Easily replayable as their music is, with tinges of garage rock and just the smallest suggestion of punk to it, it still somewhat defies categorisation. Now, in 2024, as they prepare to release their second album, they are confronted with the challenge of presenting something that feels like a step forward while remaining loyal to their distinctive voice.

The answer to the challenge is ‘Disconnections’, a single that feels a little more experimental and a little more reflective than what the band has done before, while still preserving that most essential quality of being a song you can easily imagine coming to life on a stage. With a pattern of more meditative lows followed by an explosive chorus which could be best described as pop-punk with a melancholy tinge, the track offers so many opportunities for the audience to join in and feel what the band is trying to make it feel.

Compared to the debut album’s offering, this single feels more at ease with its quieter moments. This is a good match for its themes, as the lyrics confront precisely the sense of disconnection from the quieter bur important things in life as we are pushed by society into an endless race for adrenaline. A song that challenges the idea that everyone should constantly strive for bigger and better should have an awareness of its smaller parts, and this single does: while The Assist trademarks of big, bombastic guitars and hammering drums are there, already the hook leading into the song starts slower and airier before the rhythm section comes in. To this end, arguably the most powerful moment in the whole song is when the energy simmers down and the vocals take centre stage with the haunting repetition of “I’m fighting so hard to help with this disconnection from life itself”.

There is something almost nostalgic to this track, on multiple levels. The choice of pace and overall orchestration of the song is vaguely reminiscent of the golden days of The Smiths, and the lyrics feel in places like something Pete Townshend might have written in one of his most self-reflective moments. The faster, more powerful parts of the song have something of the old glories of garage rock, as well as feeling like relatives to what some other interesting bands in the contemporary UK scenes are doing: think of JW Paris or False Heads, both bands that have successfully channelled internal turmoil into rock music which packed a powerful punch. 

There is also a sophistication, however, and a comfort in blending sounds that are not typically put together, that feels rather unique and also feels like a considerable step forward from the already very promising beginnings of the debut album. The pop element is stronger now, but in a good way: it does not negate the rock energy of the track as a whole, but adds depth to it, in a complexity that mirrors the complexity of feeling the lyrics are an attempt to reconnect with.

It might be a song about the helplessness of disconnection, but this first look at The Assist’s sophomore album has the potential to easily connect with audiences both live and at home. It is relatable and thoughtfully put together while still being very much fun: a very good answer to the challenge of the sophomore album with the potential of also offering a moment of reprieve from the very social issue it describes.

Chiara Strazzulla

@cstrazzull

Image: ‘Disconnections’ Official Single Cover