The High Dials are a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. The band started out playing a brand of pop music strongly influenced by 1960s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US * ...

styles, but their sound has broadened to incorporate

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

and

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

History

The High Dials evolved out of an earlier three-piece band known as The Datsons. The Datsons released music on Union Label Group affiliate Tyrant Records in 2000 and Off the Hip Records in 2002 as The Datson Four. Confusion with New Zealand band

The Datsuns The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 1998. Founding mainstays are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, and Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. They have released seven album ...

and a new sound and line-up resulted in a name change following

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

2003. The High Dials' debut album, ''A New Devotion'', was released July 29, 2003 through NYC-based Rainbow Quartz Records. Described as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

about "a boy named Silas attempting to escape from a nightmarish city of the future", it reached the top ten of Canada's !earshot National Top 50 Chart.

E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...

guitarist and radio personality

Little Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in ...

played the album on his Sirius radio show, and later booked them to perform at his 2004 Underground Garage Festival on

Randall's Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.

, which featured

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

, Stooges and

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

. On Nov. 4, 2023, Hook & Prayer Records re-issued a 20th-anniversary edition of this album, featuring remixes and restored tracks. 2004 saw the band release a follow-up EP, ''Fields In Glass'', featuring album outtakes and electro remixes by Michael Musmanno, Davy Love and

Will Carruthers Will Carruthers (born 9 November 1967, in Chesterfield, England) is a musician, best known for playing bass in the influential alternative rock bands Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized. Biography Early life Carruthers moved to Rugby in 1977, and ...

. ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' likened the sound to a mix of

Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

and

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the frontman and leader of indie rock band Guided by Voices, which he also the band’s only constant member. In addition to this, he has also rele ...

. In 2005, the High Dials released their sophomore album, ''War of the Wakening Phantoms'', which marked a departure from the overtly retro feel of their debut. Produced by Joseph Donovan and mixed by David Bianco, the songs featured lusher, more varied instrumentation and Sam Roberts as a guest violinist. The new direction in sound was generally well received by critics, with the album dubbed a ‘latter-day psychedelic classic' by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''. It reached the number one spot on Canadian college radio charts. The High Dials toured in support of the album, including support act slots for

Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American rock band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media notoriety for the ...

and

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

. The album was followed by ''The Holy Ground EP'' in 2007, which featured a guest appearance by

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid-1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the rock band the Zombies, and went on to form the ba ...

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and lead vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the U ...

on keyboard. The High Dials released the album ''Moon Country'' independently in 2008, before returning to Rainbow Quartz Records in 2010 for ''Anthems for Doomed Youth''. The latter album enjoyed airplay from KROQ DJ

Rodney Bingenheimer Rodney Bingenheimer (born December 15, 1946) is an American radio disc jockey who is best known as the host of ''Rodney on the ROQ'', a radio program that ran on the Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he als ...

. Album track “Bedroom Shadows”, featured in the SyFy series ''Being Human''. Notable High Dials' concerts in this period include supporting

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

and the

Osheaga The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival () is a multi-day music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages with various audience capacities. Translated ...

Music Festival in Montreal, 2011. Later in 2011, they worked with original

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

manager

Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Oldham's f ...

on a cover of “She Smiled Sweetly” for ''The Andrew Oldham Orchestra and Friends Play The Rolling Stones Songbook Vol. 2''. Following two teaser EPs''Yestergraves'' (2013) and ''Desert Tribe'' (2014)the High Dials released ''In the A.M. Wilds'' on February 3, 2015, each co-produced by Marc Bell. The album marked another stage in the band's evolution with its post-punk influences and pulsing "electronic shimmer", though these sounds had previously been noted by critics on 2008's ''Moon Country''. Album track "Echoes and Empty Rooms" featured in season four of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''House of Cards''. Following its release, the band toured Mexico and Colombia for the first time. In November 2018, the band returned from hiatus with the ''Foreverish EP'' and video. The following year, they released a new album in two parts: ''Primitive Feelings, Parts I & II'' (combined together in vinyl format).The High Dials Official Website, Sept. 20, 2019 http://thehighdials.net/primitive-feelings-part-ii/

Members

The High Dials have had a fluctuating line-up since 2003, centered on founding members Trevor Anderson and Robbie MacArthur. Band members have included

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

mer George Donoso III (ex–

The Dears The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak. History The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, ' ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

and backing vocalist Eric Dougherty, drummer Max Hebert,

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

ist Rishi Dhir and Robb Surridge (drums).

Discography

EPs

*''Fields in Glass EP'' (2004) *''The Holy Ground EP'' (2007) *''Yestergraves EP'' (2013) *''Desert Tribe EP'' (2014) *''Foreverish EP'' (2018)

Albums

* '' A New Devotion'' (2003) * '' War of the Wakening Phantoms'' (2005) * '' Moon Country'' (2008) * ''

Anthems for Doomed Youth ''Anthems for Doomed Youth'' is the third studio album by English garage rock band The Libertines, released on 11 September 2015. The album contains two notable literary references: the tracks "Anthem for Doomed Youth" and "Gunga Din" reference ...

'' (2010) * '' In the A.M. Wilds'' (2015) * ''Primitive Feelings, Pt. I'' (2019) * ''Primitive Feelings, Pt. II'' (2019)

References

External links

The High Dials official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Dials, The Musical groups established in 2003 Canadian indie rock groups Canadian power pop groups Musical groups from Montreal English-language musical groups from Quebec Canadian psychedelic rock music groups Psychedelic pop music groups