2021’s Fuck Art gave a desperately needed whimsical start to a year clouded in uncertainty; now, Free Rein to Passions comes along to force a smile on your face when we’re facing (almost similar?) uncertainty. God help us when whatever’s next from the Ontario rock quartet follows.
Even more so than its predecessor, Free Rein To Passions spends almost the entirety of its 10 tracks with a shit eating grin on its face. In a sense, it reminds you of how much fun rock music can be (wasn’t that the whole point of this, anyway?).
‘Undefeated’ is everything post 2004 Green Day should have been writing: an infectious, hearty singalong anthem with a hook laden rhythm section to boot. If American Pie happened in 2023 – this would be its soundtrack. ‘1990’ is a further nudge to cheer up too, with its vibrancy, grandeur, and downright refusal to take itself too seriously. The Dirty Nil somehow find a way to sit within a space of nostalgia and contemporary satire.
Perhaps it’s this throwback like characteristics that make The Nil so palatable. They’d sound as fitting in someone’s grandparents’ garage in 1996 as they do describing modern mayhem in the phenomenal ‘Blowin’ Up Things In The Woods’. Luke Bentham’s salvo of subtle lyricisms mixed with power vocals quite literally never stops being audible Mario Kart: everyone just ‘gets’ why it’s gratifying.
While it must be said that there’s no one track on Free Reign To Passions that quite lives up to the colossal heights of Fuck Art’s ‘Doom Boy’ – as a collective: ‘The Nil’ hit their greatest strides here. The opening one-two of singles ‘Celebration’ and ‘Nicer Guy’ are wonderful if chaotic primers for a succession of high-octane riffs and ‘man I’d love to drive top-down in a car to this’ choruses. This is no more true than on the menacing, yet charming ‘Land of Clover’. Its climactic ending could face-off with a skyscraper, and the sweeping clean riffs that fluctuate the chorus add welcome layers of technicality.
Vocalist Luke Bentham has been vocal regarding the liberation this record has given the band (hence its title). According to him, too many tried to stick their nose into Fuck Art’s creation. This is not the case here, and that is no more evident than on the (quite insane) title track. In what may be the boldest move of their career, they take a pleasant, energetic rock track and flip its middle 8 to become what could only be described as a ‘The Nil’ breakdown section. It’s quite something. But also, it’s quite brilliant.
The Dirty Nil have -for a while now- been a shining light of contemporary rock. The simplistic nature of their song writing would portray them as dull if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re just better at it than most. They’re the funny yet earnest, squeaky clean yet rugged, positive yet firm four piece that you can rely on when times get tough. They don’t save the world from super villains, but they’re certainly worth turning to when we’re in ruin.