Free Rein to Passions

With a Dirty Nil record, you always know what you’re going to get—which means never being entirely sure of which Dirty Nil you’re going to get. On their fourth album, the Dundas, Ontario, trio remain committed to pushing their simple guitar-bass-drums setup deep into the red, while exploring myriad paths to achieving maximum volume. *Free Rein to Passions* variously presents the Nil as the world’s most tuneful metal act (“Celebration”), a scrappier Foo Fighters (“Nicer Guy”), pop-punk torchbearers (“1990”), and polyrhythmic ’90s-mosh-pit overlords (the title track). But singer/guitarist Luke Bentham’s outsized charisma and melodic charms always cut through the rocket-launching riffs and amp-busting mayhem: While he’s still young enough at heart to write a cowpunk anthem for pyromaniacs (“Blowing Up Things in the Woods”), he can also inspire you to hoist a lighter for the climactic power ballad, “The Light, The Void and Everything.”

From humble underdog beginnings to Juno award-winning fame, the Dirty Nil have risen to become a finely-tuned, fan-favourite mainstay of the...

Louis Suffill reviews the new album from Ontario-based alternative rockers The Dirty Nil! Read the review of 'Free Rein To Passions' here!