Band’s newly-released “Higher Power” is group’s first album despite decade-long tenure in music world

The Dirty Nil / Higher Power

Release Date: February 26th, 2016

Rating: 7.5/10

RiYL: PUP, FIDLAR, Single Mothers

Canadian rock trio The Dirty Nil have finally brought their debut LP into the world after a decade of being a band and it has come out kicking and screaming. “Higher Power” is an aggressive album that sees the band mesh rock and punk into massive hooks and tasty guitar riffs. At its essence, it’s a rock record that defines what The Dirty Nil have set out to achieve. Listeners are immediately reeled in to the opener track and lead single “No Weaknesses,” and it’s a wild ride from there.

The opener segues to “Zombie Eyed” and “Wrestle Yü To Husker Dü” — two re-recorded hits from their vault that are the highlights of the album, and they make it clear there was definitely more emphasis on production than in previous projects. Guitar, bass and drums are collectively turned up a notch while vocals remain the focal point and do justice to singer Luke Bentham’s charismatic voice. The result, as a whole, is a sequence of killer bangers from start to finish.

However, with the album’s impressive three-song start, it’s hard for it to live up to this segment in its latter half. Perhaps this is its only fault, and even so, it doesn’t take long into “Friends In The Sky” and “Know Your Rodent” to forget about everything and focus on the immediate presence that these songs deliver.

The album is also surprisingly short, with the majority of the songs never reaching the three-minute mark. Thus, ‘Higher Power’ is an action packed jam that can be listened to in about 30 minutes. By the time you’ve reached “Bury Me At The Rodeo” — an anthemic closer that provides a sort of relief from the pace of the album as a whole — you’re well aware of the beating you’ve received and of its brevity, which is exactly what gets you to replay the album from the beginning.

Best Tracks: “No Weaknesses,” “Zombie Eyed,” “Wrestle Yü To Hesker Dü,” “Bury Me At The Rodeo”