Canadian favourites The Dirty Nil have shared details of their fifth album, ‘The Lash’. Due to be released on July 25th through Dine Alone Records, it sees the Ontario duo step away from the glitter and glam of recent releases and favour a more visceral approach. The album was recorded in just two weeks with up-and-coming producer and their actual front-of-house engineer, Vince Solveri.
The album’s opening track, ‘Gallop Of The Hounds’, has also been released as a single. It sees The Dirty Nil maintain a brash yet hints at a brutality that is threaded through ‘The Lash’.
The creative spark for the album’s creation came from a trip The Dirty Nil vocalist/guitarist Luke Bentham took to the Vatican. There, he was reminded of some forgotten artefacts in his basement. “They had these crazy bronze reliefs that were some of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen,” he recalls. “There was a particular one called The Horrors of War. It was two guys fighting over a knife. That image ended up guiding a lot of this record.”
Likewise, the album’s artwork is as harsh and stripped-back visual with skeletons and battle axes. “We thought, let’s pull back this insane colour palette that we’ve been using. Let’s try a bit of a palette reset. Just make it harsh and simple and trim the fat. I think we were just tired of colour,” says Bentham on the design by UK-based Jack Sabbat
Thematically, the album’s ten tracks see Bentham balance out his frustrations with tracks about music industry bullsh*t, and the dissolution of a relationship. It’s considerably a change from Luke’s usual happy-go-lucky romanticism, which sees drummer and co-conspirator Kyle Fisher joking, “I’ve been telling people that this is Luke’s therapy record.”
Here are the details of ‘The Lash’ by The Dirty Nil
1. Gallop of the Hounds
2. Fail in Time
3. That Don’t Mean It Won’t Sting
4. Rock N’ Roll Band
5. This Is Me Warning Ya
6. Do You Want Me?
7. Spider Dream
8. They Won’t Beat Us
9. Hero Narrative
10. I Was A Henchman
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Listen to ‘Gallop Of The Hounds’ by The Dirty Nil
When are The Dirty Nil Touring the UK?
The Dirty Nil will be back in the UK in October, supporting Spanish Love Songs, before playing the UK dates of the Common Thread Tour.
October
22nd O2 Institute, Birmingham
23rd New Century Hall, Manchester
24th Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
25th Common Thread Tour, London
26th Common Thread Tour, Leeds
