On July 25th, The Dirty Nil release their most cathartic record yet, The Lash. A short, sharp blast of rage and reflection, it’s a headfirst dive into something far more visceral and back-to-basics for the Hamilton, ON group.
Now they offer a razor-sharp gut punch new song, ‘Rock N’ Roll Band,’ laying out the unvarnished reality of life on the road in 2025. “This is the first song I wrote for The Lash,” frontman Luke Bentham explains of the track.
“I don’t remember what particular aspect of the industry had got my goat that day but I’d worked myself up to a fine lather. I blasted out the whole song in 30 minutes and instantly felt better. Though the song is pretty negative, it makes me happy. This one is for all the road dogs, we salute you.”
‘Rock N’ Roll Band’ is another standout moment on The Lash, out via Dine Alone Records. Written and recorded in just over two weeks with the band’s front-of-house engineer and rising producer, Vince Solveri, The Lash captures the Nil sounding more urgent and alive than ever.
All over their new record, The Dirty Nil dive headfirst into something far more visceral and back-to-basics. Without a moment to overthink, The Lash poured out of them, and they recorded the entire record in just over two weeks with up-and-coming producer and their actual front-of-house engineer, Vince Solveri. The result finds the band sounding more urgent and alive than ever before.
Everything about The Lash evokes a certain sort of brutality. During a trip to the Vatican, vocalist / guitarist Luke 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,” 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.”
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 ten 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.”
High Fives & Stage Dives 