Moon Country:
“Gorgeous, dazzling – these guys slay me again.” The Globe & Mail
“Clever but heartfelt lyrics and gorgeous pop melodies” Top 10 albums of 2008- Montreal Mirror
“Arguably their best work to date… The High Dials have put their heart into this record; the lyrics are passionate and the music moving.” Soundproof Magazine
“Country-tinged ’60s-ish psych-rock, with great harmonies and occasional doses of druggy drone…They are fantastic live.” Top 10 albums of 2008 – Brooklyn Vegan
“A first-rate pop group.” – The Ottawa Sun
“The songwriting remains excellent…power poppers drenched in treated, layered harmonies.” 4 stars – Eye Weekly (Toronto)
“(The High Dials) erect psychedelic pillars on a strong 60s pop foundation, from acid-soaked melodies to Madchester grooves to shoegazer resound-sound” – Exclaim (Canada)
“Treated acoustic guitars transplant back-porch Americana to a world where the pine trees come in flavours such as Popsicle purple and cellophane red.” Recommended – Georgia Straight (Vancouver)
War of the Wakening Phantoms:
“(The High Dials) have made a latter-day psychedelic classic which sounds like “Going Blank Again”-era Ride jamming with the Zombies. Psych pop perfection.” 8/10 NME (UK)
“Pretty psychedelic pop shaded with Flaming Lips-style mysticism. The golden era of Canadian cool continues apace” The Sun (UK)
“Hailing from the Montreal scene that spawned The Dears and The Arcade Fire, the High Dials have more in common with the new wave of thoughtful guitar bands that includes the Shins and the Essex Green, with their precise guitar interplay underscoring songs about being adrift in the world or hopelessly in love. (The songs) breathe new life into pop’s tired romantic lexicon. Echoes of soft-rock legends Big Star, Love and the Moody Blues.” 4 stars The Independent (UK)
“Canadian psychedelia that sounds like the Zombies waltzing with Doves among tall grass on a very sunny afternoon.” Pick of the day - The Guardian (UK)
“The High Dials occasionally resemble the Flamin’ Groovies or The Nazz, but are far more than mere slaves to British Invasion tradition. Infused with Topanga Canyon vibes and the spikier end of 80’s indie, their fizzing pop carries a melancholy strain that shares common ground with The Shins. Dazzling.” 4 stars – UNCUT
“An entire pop album of psychedelic superhits: instantly hummable, easily digestible, completely candy-coated and totally fucking sweet.” 20 best albums of 2005 – MAGNET
“The sound of a band discovering its soul and creating something beautiful and big…this album will blow you away” 4 ½ stars – All Music Guide
“A must-see band at SXSW” New York Post
“At times their sunburst melodies sound arena-big, at times they sound like elegies written in country churchyards next to the Hacienda club” Recommended – SPIN
10 best albums of 2005 – Washington Post
“Close breathy harmonies, dreamy pop collages and intelligent wordplay…deceptively beautiful psychedelia and the smart, sardonic asides… If nothing else, this record is a compelling journey through heartbreak.”- Album of the Week, Rough Trade Website
“An immaculate, narcotic pop record, ebbing and flowing with cloudbreak vocals and jangled psychedelia, optimism and doom. The time of the High Dials has come, and none too soon.”- The Globe and Mail (Canada)
“This music is for right here, right now and all-time – classic rock in the greatest sense of the term.” 5 stars – Top ten albums of 2005 – Montreal Gazette
“If you’re not already in love, this album approximates its euphoric stupor…Hell, Montreal’s High Dials may even change your life”4 Stars – NOW Magazine (Toronto)
“There is something slightly epic about the High Dials. Reminiscent of the shoegazing/Madchester scene of the late 80’s-early 90’s, with an added elegance and sense of immediacy you get with bands like Arcade Fire or Polyphonic Spree.” Spill Magazine
“Everything that great rock and roll was meant to be: euphoric, pained, sweet, dark, dangerous, passionate, surprising and wholly addictive” 4 ½ Stars – Ottawa Citizen
“Summer harmonies allied to silken psychedelics woven from paisley underground remnants, a Montreal via Merseybeat mélange of lush conceptual genius” – Classic Rock Magazine
A New Devotion:
“C’est écrit, joué dans l’esprit et le son des années 66 à 68, avec une aisance et une maîtrise qui vont étonner le connaisseur, qui devrait succomber à un coup de foudre. Pour les moins familiers, ca vous semblera une pop fraîche, terriblement accrocheuse et étrangement consonante. Chalereusement recommandé.” Journal de Montréal
“Contagieux, oui, parce que cette galette de pop très 60’s s’écoute d’un bout a l’autre, se laisse découvrir, se laisse dévorer peu à peu. (Une groupe) qui a tout compris, tout assimilé, pour mieux servir une sauce qui confond les époques, du psychédélique à la Britpop modern, sans oublier quelques traces de rock garage pour nous brasser ca juste un peu… Ces Montréalais pourraient aller loin.” La Presse
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