Fully re-mastered to tape, with beautiful remixes & missing songs restored—this is a 20th birthday celebration of the release that started it all.
Now available on all platforms via Hook & Prayer Records (distributed worldwide by Fontana North).
There’s still a lot of love & hope in this record from us to you. Hope it finds you all over again.
Enjoy this long-lost song from A New Devotion—available everywhere for the first time, as of today (Oct. 25)!
The animated teaser features artwork from the comic book companion, coming soon!
Released in July 2003, The High Dials’ debut album A New Devotion sounded like it might burst out of its jewel case. Even at a wopping 76-minutes, the CD could barely contain four hyperactive lads romping across music history like kids in a candy store.
Detractors hated its retro, upbeat vibe. Some even accused the band of wearing stylistic straightjackets. But those who “got it” rejoiced—a merry band of influential and vocal supporters that included Little Steven van Zandt, Al Kooper, Andrew Loog Oldham and Anton Newcombe. Pre-social media, word spread the old-fashioned (i.e. slower) way—sympathetic message boards, local gigs and radio shows. The band soon found themselves circling round and round the continent in their purple van, helping build the scene that would later blossom into psychedelia’s third wave.
A comic book was meant to accompany the release, telling the story of a boy named Silas and his attempts to escape a domed city. (Time and tiny budgets spoiled that dream.) Other corners were cut, too—key songs scrapped and mixes badly rushed.
Now, 20 years later, Hook & Prayer Records is proud to re-release A New Devotion as it was meant to be experienced. Fully re-mastered to tape, with remixes by songwriter / producer Trevor Anderson, never-before-heard tracks unveiled, and a comic book finally on the way, this memorable debut is set to explode out of its casing all over again!
So dial up the jangle, declare your devotion, and enjoy what Tinnitus recently called “a timeless (and near flawless) bit of magic.”
A New Devotion —20th Anniversary Edition is out everywhere Nov. 3, 2003. You can PRE-SAVE IT HERE and spread the love!
Hard to believe it’s already been two years since The High Dials returned with the Foreverish EP.
To celebrate the occasion, the band released a video for “Illuminati Bop” this week. The jagged jump cuts, propaganda fragments and overall disorientation kind of sums up the mood of 2020. But you can still dance to it!
There are a very limited number of autographed cassette copies of this release still available. Your support on Bandcamp Fridays has been a huge boost to the boys this year. Thank you super fans, you know who you are!
Ever wondered what cats know that you don’t know?
“Guerilla Guru” travels the multiverse from a cat perspective, illuminating the mysteries of long-forgotten feline civilization. It’s another found footage collage from video collaborator Ghost Mago. Watch if you dare, then share!
Primitive Feelings Parts I & II are now available together, as one beautiful 180-gram coloured vinyl LP. Get it on Bandcamp!
The High Dials will be playing Manchester, Liverpool and London this month, in addition to their FOCUS Wales Showcase.
They’ll also be making a Toronto appearance for Canadian Music Week before crossing the pond.
Catch them live on the one of the following dates for a preview of songs from their upcoming full length album (details TBA):
May 9 – Toronto (Bovine Sex Club)
May 15 – Manchester, UK (Retro Club)
May 16 – Liverpool, UK (Phase One)
May 17 – Wrexham, UK (FOCUS Wales showcase)
May 19 – London, UK (The Raven Tower Bridge)
The High Dials will be showcasing at FOCUS Wales 2019 on May 17 at Memorial Hall in Wrexham. Catch them shortly after headliners Boy Azooga, recent winners of the Welsh Music Prize.
Doors are at 7:00pm and you can get tickets HERE.
This is the 9th edition of the international conference and festival that welcomes about 10,000 music fans and industry types to Wales each May.
It’s the band’s first return across the pond since their 2014 tour of the UK and Ireland.
The Foreverish EP landed on all platforms today – stream, download and share!
A limited number of CDs and signed cassettes are still available through Bandcamp.
After a two-year writing hiatus, the band is back!
A new line-up features familiar faces Simon Quevillon on bass and Max Hebert on drums, both of whom played with the High Dials in Mexico and Colombia. Max was drummer on the albums “Moon Country” and “Anthems For Doomed Youth”.
The new-look band takes the stage on Sept. 20 in Montreal – don’t miss this first glimpse of songs from their upcoming EP and album.
All is quiet on the High Dials front – band members pursue different projects but still meet up for beverages and comeback plans. A new album is promised. Stay zen and watch this space for an announcement, we hope soon.
Meanwhile, Trevor has quietly released a first solo record – available on all digital platforms. Titled “Sphaera – Music From the Film Let There Be Light”, it features bits of the score to the aforementioned documentary but is also a concept record in its own right, “a kind of romantic space opera about the heavenly bodies – stars, planets and such, and the feelings of love and terror we feel beneath them.”
The album features moody balladry interspersed with mellotron-heavy orchestral suites, many of which feature in the Eye Steel Film documentary “Let There Be Light”.
Taking cues from romantic torch songs, John Barry, Hammer horror, old sci-fi and erotic scores in combination with the first-wave electronica of bands like Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd – “Sphaera” is an immersive psychedelic meditation.
“Let There Be Light” is an Eye Steel Film documentary about attempts to recreate the sun on earth for fusion energy. It has featured in festivals worldwide since its spring 2017 release, including SXSW, Hot Docs and Docs Barcelona, winning the Artistic Vision Award at Big Sky Festival.
