For the strapping lads comprising Toronto rock trio The Dirty Nil, Big Bear was so much more than a convenience store parking lot they gazed upon from their second-floor bathroom window – the trash-strewn asphalt stage where seemingly every element of the human experience played out like a never-ending theatrical production.
The house was all at once a shared residence, creative commons, and god-forsaken pirate ship, its revolving cast of crewmates armed with instruments, alcohol, and overdriven amplifiers. Indeed, they lived, laughed, and loved there even though no kitschy wall sign from a suburban mom’s Etsy shop told them to.
“We were there through our 20s and having the best time,” shares guitarist Luke Bentham, namedropping some of the transient roommates than who spent a few months under the roof with them – members of fellow revered Canadian rock outfits including The Glorious Sons, Attack in Black, Career Suicide, Seaway, and Single Mothers. “It was so conducive to creativity and collaboration. When we turned 30, though, it felt like time to spring from the nest, so we all put our separate plans into motion, and then I immediately started to miss everybody.”
“Bye Bye Big Bear” is a loving musical tribute to that unforgettable time and place, and The Dirty Nil’s first new offering since their impactful 2021 sophomore album Fuck Art. On its back, the boys got back on the road, electrifying increasingly packed venues and festival stages with their fiery brand of punk-tinged rock n roll.
The new single is the natural next step from Fuck Art and their 2018 breakout Master Volume – the same blistering power chords, silky-smooth hooks, and oddly charming witticisms distilled into a more potent, harder-hitting product. It’s also the first recorded outing with new bassist and backup vocalist Sam Tomlinson throwing a bit more gas onto Bentham and drummer Kyle Fisher’s musical fire.
“There are things we’ll really miss – and definitely things we won’t – but a lot of it was just that we’d understood that the club house was breaking up, and that unlocked a lot of feeling.”
Only once the emotional scarring of their Big Bear goodbye has healed will The Dirty Nil have the proper emotional capacity to plot what’s next. Back to stocking shelves at Canadian Tire, maybe a semester in clown college? Or maybe they muscle up and drop a kick-ass new album?
Time heals all wounds, but for now, it’s just too soon to tell…
Watch them destroy a perfectly good minivan in their new video for “Doom Boy”
The Dirty Nil have released a new song. The song is called “Doom Boy”. The song is available digitally and on 7-inch vinyl. The Dirty Nil released Master Volume in 2018
The Dirty Nil is a Canadian punk rock band that surprised us in the past with some nice records and excellent songs. The band has been around since 2006 and has excelled in the past mainly because of their combination of raw rock with the sharpness of punk and their humorous side. Not much has changed in […]
The Dirty Nil have released a music video for their single “Done With Drugs”. The video was directed by Mitch Barnes and Victor Malang. The band released a live video for the single last month. The Dirty Nil released Master Volume in 2018 via Dine Alone Records.
Canadian punks The Dirty Nil released a new single, “Done With Drugs,” last month, and we’re now premiering the song’s music video.
The Dirty Nil have shared a new single titled “Done With Drugs,” a tongue-in-cheek ode to pledges of self-improvement.
Hear the Hamilton band’s track “Done with Drugs”
Having been able to “put the finishing touches on their next album” while in lockdown living together, The Dirty Nil have now unveiled the first taste of what they’ve been working on: their ridiculously infectious new single “Done With Drugs.”
“The Dirty Nil opened the night, an incredibly dynamic band that is a headliner in their own right”
In some pretty amazing company!
“The band distills the best qualities of punk, grunge, and powerful rock to create some of the most exciting music you’ll ever hear.” – Paul Silver
via Goldmine Sacks!
The greatest! Minds and bubblegum will explode!
More tour dates for The Dirty Nil + their new video for ‘Friends In The Sky. All details can be found at The Spill Magazine!
Check it out Exclaim!!
The clip is a homage to The Who’s (in)famous debut appearance on American television, where they verbally (and literally) tore apart The Smothers Brothers. Wait for it…
Never ending tour continues!
The Dirty Nil are on tour forever and ever, so watch out!
They are always playing live.
“Were this any other era of rock, the band would be the most famous band on the planet. They’ve got a style that could easily translate to any time period, any audience, and any venue. After years of skating by on singles and EPs, the hard-touring and outrageously likeable Canucks finally dropped their long-awaited debut, […]
“The Dirty Nil may not sport mohawks or ostentatiously dyed hair, but along with Mean Jeans and The Lippies, they’re dedicated to cranking out high energy, no frills music that is passionate, direct and utterly down to earth. What could be more punk than that?”
Watch them perform “WRESTLE YÜ TO HÜSKER DÜ” at the link.
“Lyrically, musically, stylistically, this is everything I’m looking for in a rock song and the video compliments it like a goddamn dream.”
Look out for The Dirty Nil at SXSW this week!
“There is always melody to their madness”
“Higher Power is Bob Seger, Ray-Bans and Tom Cruise sliding around his parents’ house in his underwear for millennials, celebratory rock that doesn’t want to have to deal with Monday right now.”
Watch the VHS intensified footage at Exclaim!
“The Dundas, Ontario band have made huge waves preceding their recent album Higher Power, establishing themselves as a refreshing take on organic, visceral rock and roll genre.”
Watch for them on tour…until the end of days!
Watch in all of its VHS glory.
“Higher Power will leave you smiling, even after it knocks your teeth out.”
Record is out now on Dine Alone Records!
“Run for your lives everyone, The Dirty Nil have arrived.”
“The Dirty Nil have released their own catapult.”
“The fact these guys come from a classic rock background shines bright and proud here, more prominent than ever. This was no accident. The band knew what they were going for and they went for it hard.”
“It may be shit-kicking, party-until-you-vomit-then-party-again kind of rock, but The Dirty Nil prove that they are the highest calibre in that category.”
Out this Friday!!!!
“Only a true punk band would try to pull a fast one on God.”
.. to talk with Mike and Ashley about their debut LP Higher Power.
and history of the band!!!
“…pushing the hazards of commercialism aside, knocking on the hearts of the rock and roll faithful.”
Want to win the new album from The Dirty Nil on vinyl?!? Head to Photogmusic and answer “What song is “Higher Power” mentioned in?”
“The Dirty Nil have not so much left an impression with ‘Higher Power’ than left a crater smack bang in the middle of the musical landscape.”
“Fans of The Dirty Nil will undoubtedly be stoked on the full-length project, as it is the long overdue, fully cohesive release they have waited for. Furthermore, newcomers will appreciate Higher Power as a proclamation of the bands tangible entrance into the music industry and as a testament to the group’s uncompromising sound.”
“Burn in hell, Burritoville.” The Dirty Nil never forget.
You heard? Maybe. Essential? 100%.
We are getting closer and closer to the release of The Dirty Nil‘s debut album ‘Higher Power’.
AND by the looks of the below picture they have never looked better!
Debut LP “Higher Power” is out February 26th.
“Lead singer Luke Bentham spits out the lyrics with a throat-scratching urgency over a rampant explosion of lawless guitars, and it’s this sort of feral intensity that’ll make the Dirty Nil’s debut an anarchic rollercoaster ride.”
“Higher Power” is out February 26th on Dine Alone Records!
The Dirty Nil will release their debut LP in 2016.
“creating distortion-drenched, gravelly punk rock ‘n’ roll with hugely sing-along-able choruses perfect for a drunken dance floor. BOOM!”
Kyle from The Dirty Nil let Riffyou.com know what his favourite album was. The choice may surprise you.
“Peep the David Dunham directed video shot by Stephanie Bell & Karl DiPelino for The Dirty Nil’s fun new video “No Weaknesses” that takes on the endurance challenges of showing that they are tough enough (sans any appearance of any potential weaknesses). Hilarities and satirical presentations of testosterone displays of aggression ensue to an amusing […]
“The track keeps with the brash, playful sense of twang-punctuated rawk the band has consistently churned out over several awesome EPs and 7”s. But this time that classic rock influence comes through loud and clear, the vocals are more rough and tumble and the energy even more erratic, defying containment from full throttle to back […]
Out February 26th on Dine Alone Records!
“not so much as tour as it is an endurance test”.
This time PureGrainAudio.com finds out about all their worst experiences.
Check them out on tour now!
Listen to “No Weaknesses” below.
“Dundas, Ontario punk trio The Dirty Nil are not-so-slowly emerging from the underworld of the Ontario rock scene, and are on their way to becoming a national treasure.”
Check out the track in Daniel P. Carter’s playlist!
Stream the new track from The Dirty Nil at PureGrainAudio.com
Listen to their cover of Fugazi’s “Provisional” at the link!
Prepare to have all of your questions answered!
“Can’t wait for them to blow up and be one of the best things to come out of Canada!”
Listen to “No Weaknesses” at the link!
Let’s all pray you didn’t miss it.
“I’d get us sponsored by Southern Comfort. It killed Janis Joplin so it’s got to be good.”
“No Weaknesses’ is a rocking tribute to feeling invincible which seems really appropriate for these guys as they’ve gone from height-to-height with their musical career over the past few years.”
“Over the last four years, since first hearing their “Fuckin’ Up Young” 7″, I have had a front row seat for the making of the next Greatest Band in Canada®. Guitarist Luke Bentham, bassist Dave Nardi, and drummer Kyle Fisher are gluttons for punishment, crisscrossing North America relentlessly touring, pressing their own singles, releasing mixtapes, […]
Stereogum has the premiere of the new single from The Dirty Nil. “The Canadian trio builds up an impenetrable rock wall in two-and-a-half-minutes time, bolstering the song’s claim that they’re pretty much invincible.”
BrooklynVegan has ALL the good news.
New 7″ in the fall. A boatload of tour dates. And getting ready for LP #1.
Check out these great shots of The Dirty Nil’s show at The Silver Dollar via Live in Limbo.
Luke from The Dirty Nil sat down with 98KUPD Official as the band gets ready Vans Warped Tour.
“He yells like Roger Daltrey and shreds like Pete Townshend, complete with impressive windmill strums driving home the band’s extra meaty hooks.” The Dirty Nil took over The Silver Dollar in Toronto on Friday. Exclaim! was there to give you the rundown.
Or he talks about a Good Read, a Good Listen and a Good drink.
A must see/hear/digest!
There is photo evidence!!
Read Exclaim!’s review to see how it’s going.
“There’s melody, there’s energy with some fuzz, punk and rock to boot and it’s pretty hard to resist turning this up loud for everyone to hear.”
CBC gives The Dirty Nil the #9 spot. #herecomethemohawks