With indie rock fuzz-bombs and shout-along choruses, The Dirty Nil has an explosive sound harnessed through countless hours spent kicking up a racket in the suburban basements of Dundas, ON. The trio’s raucous anthems pack a wallop on the debut album Higher Power — Pitchfork praised the LP’s “massive hooks,” and Brooklyn Vegan wrote that “The Dirty Nil sound destined to cut through all the noise.”
Higher Power has been many years in the making. It’s been a decade since the Hamilton-based band formed in 2006 as a duo featuring teenage high school pals Luke Bentham (guitar/vocals) and Kyle Fisher (drums). After a few years of basement jam sessions, they rounded out the lineup with the addition of their friend and fan David Nardi (bass/vocals) in 2009.
Quickly, the guys developed a sound that mixed the catchy muscle of ‘70s rock with the furious energy of punk. Kyle explains, “We all grew up liking classic rock music and playing classic rock songs and punk songs all the time.”
David chimes in, “I was listening to Led Zeppelin and the Stooges back to back. I was burning CDs to listen to in the car without any real knowledge that the bands I was playing were in direct opposition. I was putting a Sex Pistols track on a CD right after Pink Floyd without realizing that one was trying to destroy the other.”
The Dirty Nil released a string of singles and EPs, and their fanbase spread from their hometown across the continent. They earned an admirer in NOFX’s Fat Mike, who asked the band to cut a single for his celebrated punk label Fat Wreck Chords (2014’s “Cinnamon” b/w “Guided by Vices”). They hung out with underground hero Ian McKaye at the iconic Dischord House in Virginia, opened for FLAG, and took part in Warped Tour.
In early 2016, they released the much-anticipated debut album Higher Power through Dine Alone Records. With 11 songs full of shrieking feedback, in-the-red distortion and titanic choruses, it’s a coming-of-age party for three friends who have remained true to their rock roots without allowing themselves to be confined by genre. Towering cuts like “No Weaknesses” and “Zombie Eyed” display Bentham’s love of combining sneering garage rock with power pop hooks, while “Lowlives” and the bite-sized “Fugue State” highlight Nardi’s knack for brute-force hardcore and sinister post-punk.
Sessions for the album took place at Candle Recording in Toronto with producer Shehzaad Jiwani (Greys) and at Tape in Hamilton with producer Adam Bentley (The Rest). Mixing was handled by indie rock guru John Goodmanson (Sleater-Kinney, Death Cab for Cutie, Unwound), and the results capture the spontaneous energy of The Dirty Nil’s concerts with sizzling sonic clarity.
“Recording Higher Power, the goal was to create as close of an approximation to a live show as possible,” explains David. “We never recorded anything to a click track. A lot of it was eye contact and body language. Kyle and I played together, locking in. I watched his hands and he watched mine. The music breathes and falls all over the place, and that’s why we had to play in the same room.”
But no matter how much the band continues to grow and improve, the project still has the same vibrant energy that brought these buddies together in the basement all those years ago.
“When we’re playing together on stage, it feels like those first few rehearsals that we had with Dave in the very early days,” Luke says. “Everything’s exciting and cohesive and powerful and together. That’s the feeling that sustains you through the long seven-hour drives between shows.”
“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
