Sure, playing 350 shows over the past three years all over the world was pretty impressive. Opening for The Who in front of 50,000 people? Not bad for a couple of loudmouths from the quaint, quiet valley town of Dundas, Ontario. And, sure, winning the Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year made the parents proud. But of all the accomplishments that Hamilton-based power trio The Dirty Nil have ticked off their bucket list since coughing up their debut single, “Fuckin’ Up Young,” in 2011, nothing tops the honour that was bestowed upon them back on March 23, 2015.
“If you go on Reddit,” drummer Kyle Fisher begins, “a video that we had on our Instagram made the top listing of the WTF page! We were staying at a hotel in East Dallas—which we later found out was not a good place to stay. The only room available was a smoking room with that shitty plastic covering on the mattress. And it was a weird night there, with police and drug dealers out in the halls. But when we woke up in the morning, and opened the door, there was a huge, long trail of ants going from one end of the hallway to the other end!”
Like any group of true artists, The Dirty Nil channel trauma into their music… and on the band’s second album, Master Volume, the harrowing experience of seeing the inside of America’s most disgusting hotels, night in and night out, manifests itself in the song “Super 8.” “I’m halfway to hell/ It’s called Super 8 Motel,” Luke Bentham sings, stretching out the words with the palpable pain of someone who’s struggling to catch some precious between-gigs shut-eye on a mattress riddled with bed bugs and stains of dubious origin. But for The Dirty Nil, the effects of non-stop touring go way beyond translating one-star Trip Advisor reviews into song.
The Dirty Nil didn’t just spend the past few years on the road in support of their debut album, Higher Power and companion collection of early singles, Minimum R&B. They spent of much of it opening for—and, more importantly, studying—the greats: Against Me, Billy Talent, Alexisonfire. They’re bands who, like the Nil, cut their teeth for years on the punk circuit playing the dingiest of dives, but now find themselves playing arenas and headlining festivals. With Master Volume, The Dirty Nil are ready to make the same leap—not by polishing their sound for radio, but by bulking it up to fill the stadiums and open fields of their most vivid rock ‘n’ roll fantasies.
Says Luke, “I think the experience of playing with bands like Against Me—bands that can put on a proper fucking rock show—and seeing what works in a big space definitely crept into the way we think about songs, and how to sound powerful. A lot of the times, when you play blitzkrieg-fast, it has a way of sounding awesome in a club. But when you’re playing in a giant space with some sound guy who’s never seen you before mixing you, it can be a roll of the dice.”
Adds Kyle, “Everyone says, ‘a good song’s a good song no matter how it’s recorded.’ But a good song can’t be a good song if nobody can hear it properly!”
Produced by veteran alt-rock architect John Goodmanson, Master Volume is an album that crunches and grooves where the band once smashed and trashed, unleashing the Nil’s undiminished raw power in more controlled waves to better target the back rows. “It’s less of a sprint and more of a strut,” Luke says, and he credits a great deal of the tempo shift to the arrival of Ross Miller, who replaced original bassist Dave Nardi in early 2017. While Ross was already Luke and Kyle’s roommate, his pedigree includes playing with everyone from Wanda Jackson to Single Mothers.
“I’m a big fan of the drums,” Ross says, “so my intention on the bass is to make the drums sound the best they can—Kyle always comes up with cool grooves and I don’t want to fuck that up. I want there to be lots of space so everything shines through.”
Adds Luke: “It takes a lot of confidence to play slower and have a discernible pulse, and Ross totally bounces! And Kyle plays hip-hop style drums when he’s in his natural element, so it was fun making songs around that. I would come up with some chords and lyrics and melodies, and they would be totally molded around what the fuckin’ Funk Brothers were laying down over here.”
Now, we should be clear that The Dirty Nil have not transformed themselves into a shirtless, bass-slappin’, Chili Peppered punk-funk unit… not that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, the band were stoked to work with Goodmanson not because he’s produced Sleater-Kinney or Bikini Kill or Blonde Redhead or any number of highly respected indie-rock acts; they were more impressed by his mosh-friendly credentials. Says Luke, “We just fucking punished him the entire time for nu-metal stories. ‘Death Cab for Cutie? We don’t give a shit! Tell us about Saliva!’ I think one of the most important and liberating things about the climate in which we made this album is that we celebrate white noise and Sugar Ray and everything in between. We don’t give a shit. We like all rock music, even terrible rock music. We’ll listen to Kill Em All and My War and then we’ll just listen to Aerosmith and St. Anger.”
And they’ll also shamelessly steal song titles from The Beatles (“Please, Please Me”) and Cheap Trick (“Auf Wiedersehen”) just for shits ‘n’ giggles. (“We’re improving them,” Luke says with an unsubtle grin.) But the joy and bravado with which the Nil deliver Master Volume’s pummeling power-pop missives bely the often grim narratives embedded within. The first two songs alone—“That’s What Heaven Feels Like” and “Bathed in Light”—find Luke dying in two different car crashes, flying through smashed windshields and talking to his deceased grandma in heaven; “Always High” sees him eulogizing an ill-fated driver lying on the roadside with their head split open. (“What can I say, most of the rock ‘n’ roll I’ve consumed in my lifetime has something to do with fast cars, as Van Halen as that sounds,” Luke reasons. “And we’ve definitely seen our share of roadside carnage travelling in the Southern states.) “I Don’t Want That Phone Call” is an even more brutally frank treatise on impending death, with Luke pleading to an addict friend to get help and spare him the inevitable call from the morgue. And sure, the album has two songs that could practically qualify as ballads, but the first one (“Auf Wiedersehn”) unleashes its ache in a throat-shredding chorus of “FUCK YOU,” and the second (“Evil Side”) builds to an atomic, noise-blasted climax that, when the band perform it in concert, is liable to trigger an earthquake that swallows up the circle pit.
“I don’t ever sit down and say, ‘I’m going to write about a song about this today,’” Luke explains. “I just open my mouth and start playing… and some pretty heinous shit comes out! I definitely enjoy morbid subject matter of all spades, but I like to try to flash a smirk in there with it, because I think it’s important to paint with different brushes. And listening to certain writers I love, like Townes Van Zandt—he has that sort of bleakness, but also with a little bit of humour with it.”
Loaded with steady-grooving songs about living fast and life-affirming anthems about dying young, Master Volume ultimately amplifies The Dirty Nil’s most essential quality: their refusal to be defined. They’re too melodic and muscular to be purely punk, but too raucous and unhinged to pass as straight pop; too cheeky to be overtly political, but still acutely in tune with the unsettled, anxious energy of the times in which we live. Whether you find catharsis in a crowd-surf or a street protest, Master Volume captures the ecstatic rush of getting swept up in a communal moment… and the frantic fear that it can all come crashing down at any second.
Luke concludes with a laugh: “We don’t really label ourselves other than just… the best band. That’s our genre!”
“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
