The High Dials are a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

mod styles, but their sound has broadened to incorporate

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a 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, an energetic performance, and c ...

, psychedelic music, shoegaze and

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which 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 revival. Performers s ...

History

The High Dials evolved out of an earlier three-piece band known as The Datsons. The Datsons released music on

Union Label Group Union Label Group is a record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was formed through the merger of the smaller labels Stomp Records, 2112 Records, and Tyrant Records. Mayday! Records was later created as a genre imprint. Stomp Records was ...

affiliate Tyrant Records in 2000 and Off the Hip Records in 2002 as "The Datson Four". Confusion with New Zealand band The Datsuns and a new sound and line-up resulted in a name change following SXSW 2003. The High Dials' debut album, ''A New Devotion'', was released July 29, 2003 through Rainbow Quartz Records. Described as a concept album about "a boy named Silas attempting to escape from a nightmarish city of the future", it reached the top ten of the !earshot National Top 50 Chart.

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

guitarist and radio personality Little Steven Van Zandt played the album on his Sirius radio show, and later booked them to perform at his 2004 Underground Garage Festival in NYC, which featured

The Strokes The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...

, Stooges and New York Dolls. 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, an ...

. Exclaim! likened the sound to a mix of Chemical Brothers and Robert Pollard. 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 first album. 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 and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

. 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 musical project and 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 not ...

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 has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cr ...

. 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, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

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 from 1976 to 2017. In the early 1970s, he also m ...

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

Osheaga The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie 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 ...

Music Festival in Montreal, 2011. Later in 2011, they worked with original Rolling Stones 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 Loog Oldha ...

on a cover of “She Smiled Sweetly” for ''The Andrew Oldham Orchestra and Friends Pay 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 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."Indie88 Premiere: The High Dials Release Video For Foreverish"
''Indie88'', by Chelsea Brimstin, December 12, 2018

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 drummer 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 inst ...

and backing vocalist Eric Dougherty, drummer Max Hebert, bassist/

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

ist Rishi Dhir and Robb Surridge (drums). MacArthur is also a member of Montreal-based

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

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'' (2010) * '' In the A.M. Wilds'' (2015) * ''Primitive Feelings, Pt. 1'' (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