[MUSIC NEWS] THE DIRTY NIL Tease New Album

Ontario’s The Dirty Nil fire back with “Fail in Time”, the latest single off their upcoming fifth album, The Lash, out July 25th via Dine Alone Records/Civilians and available to pre-order now.

Following the searing charge of “Gallop of the Hounds“, the snarling honesty of “Rock N’ Roll Band”, and the delicate introspection of “Spider Dream”, this new track drives the knife even deeper, pairing triumphant verses with a stark chorus that confronts the inevitable fade of happiness. “Fail in Time” is a perfect example of The Lash’s stripped down, black-and-white approach: raw, loud, and refreshingly bleak.

“When true joy enters your life, you know it’s got a return ticket to wherever it came from,” shares vocalist Luke Bentham. “I wrote the chorus of the song first and wanted to make the verses as triumphant as possible – we even got an I Think You Should Leave reference into the second. Then we hit the pre-chorus where happiness begins to fade. The chorus is about knowing it’s over… that little spark is gone. [Engineer] Vince [Solivari] insisted we put a hardcore breakdown in at the end and I’m glad we listened to him.”

Everything about ‘The Lash’ evokes a certain brutality. During a trip to the Vatican, Bentham found inspiration in some of its forgotten art: “I was in a very dusty part of the basement, and they had these crazy bronze reliefs that were some of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen. 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.”

From there, the band brought in UK designer Jack Sabbat for his acerbic, bootleg punk-flyer style, assuring The Lash would look right at home in a beat-up bin of old Crass records or in a Medieval torture dungeon. Thematically, the album’s 10 tracks trade Bentham’s usual happy-go-lucky romanticism for a cathartic vent session about everything from music industry bullsh*t to the dissolution of a relationship. Drummer and co-conspirator Kyle Fisher jokes: “I’ve been telling people that this is Luke’s therapy record.”

Since forming in 2006, The Dirty Nil have always embraced the flashier side of punk. But with The Lash, they strip it all down to the essentials – just two friends in a room, playing like everything is on the line. For fans of The Jesus Lizard, The Bronx, and Metz, The Lash is a high-stakes rock record from a band that has spent over a decade tearing up stages, building a worldwide following, and even winning a JUNO Award for Breakthrough Band in 2017. They’ve played the game and jumped through the hoops – now, The Dirty Nil are doing things entirely on their own terms.

“Fail In Time” is available and streaming everywhere now, The Lash will be available Friday July 25 via Dine Alone Records & Civilians.