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The High Dials – Yestergraves

The High Dials – Yestergraves | Album review

Montreal indie band The High Dials have broken their recent silence and announced a new album for 2014. In the meantime, they are releasing a couple of warm-up EPs, the first of which is Yestergraves.

Since their 60s inspired debut in 2003, The High Dials have undergone a transformation, gradually leaning more towards a psychedelic than British mod sound. Yestergraves is a psych introspection – pensive and distant with an out-of-focus air.

The title track begins with a hazy mist of guitar that solidifies into a melodic weaving of riffs and synth, undercut with a pulsating beat. Its dreamy vocal harmony provides a mesmerising warmth that echoes the songs sentiments about acceptance and futility: “we live in the life that we choose, not yesterday”.

In the same vein, Echoes and Empty Rooms combines shimmery, dream-like melodies with the vibe of a classic 80s throwback. Evil Twin shows a darker side to the EP, with offset electro hiccups, sinister vocal echoes and a synth that sounds like Kraftwerk gone rogue.

Hopefully an indication of what’s to come in 2014, Yestergraves is a strong, though brief, collection of indie psych. All that’s left is to enjoy, and wait for the next installment.

Sarah Edmonds

Yestergraves EP was released on 22nd November 2013. For further information or to order the album visit the High Dials’ website here.

Listen to Yestergraves here:

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