Words by Orlando Niebles
London’s post-punk hardcore outfit High Vis have shared their latest single ‘Talk for Hours’, alongside an exciting deal with indie label Dais, home to Coil, Annabelle’s Garden and William S. Burroughs’s releases, amongst other exciting acts. The quintet, who profess to take inspiration from Gang of Four, Joy Division, Crisis and The Stone Roses, are currently touring with Nothing Now and and have been a force of nature amongst the hardcore.
Photo credit: Simon Wellington
High Vis fuse the bristling, frenetic energy of hardcore with the unabashed anthemia of the Madchester scene to stunning effect. This single, however, is indicative of a sonic future for the band not solely bound by the strictures of hardcore and punk, but leaning into post-punk and alternative landscapes. A big, heavily wet arena-style snare and kick combination with a chorus of drone-like distorted guitar riffs reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine drowns the vocals in a sea of noise.
Graham Sayle’s vocals can be heard shouting through the cacophony the lyrics ‘talk for hours, I hardly know ya. But I, I’m listenin’ to you cry’ - a familiar chant in city life, where mindless chatter of ego, self-assessment and solipsism shouts louder than the fragility and fear that it conceals. Sayle’s direct criticism of this culture rings true in the lyrics ‘And all my friends keep dying through their authenticity/ And sadly you’re not as funny as you used to be’. Sayle calls this single “a sobering reflection on endless conversations without resolution. Temporary chemical optimism and subsequent hopeless introspection. A song born out of late nights waiting your turn to shout your struggle that no one will listen to”
In a world with a surplus of speaking people and a deficit of actual meaning, High Vis’ single ‘Talk for Hours’ is a welcome deviation from the sensational mundanity of modern culture, and seems to openly challenge society’s pantomime of fake characters, trading them in for the soulful integrity of real communities, stories and lives.
Watch the video for 'Talk For Hours' here:
UK Tour Dates:
Apr 19th | Leeds - The Brudenell Social Club ~ Apr 20th | Glasgow - Audio ~ Apr 22nd | London - The Dome ~ Jun 25th | Manchester - Outbreak Fest at Bowlers Exhibition Centre Aug 15th | London - Underworld ! Nov 10th | London - Underworld #
~ w/ Nothing ! w/ Fiddlehead & Militarie Gun # w/ The Chisel, Ironed Out, Nekra
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