High Dials - War of the Wakening Phantoms (14 tracks) +Album Reviews

Surprising Blend Of All Things Good

G. Vickers | Canada | 04/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"caught the high dials opening for neko case recently, and was quite surprised by how good they were. often opening bands are dull and you simply wait for them to finish, but i found myself really enjoying this band's blend of psychedelic new wave.

bought 'war of the wakening phantoms' the next day and it's been in steady rotation. the combination of influences and styles on display in these songs is intriguing: a blend of 60's psychedlia mixed with liberal dashes of 80's new wave and 90's britpop. with nods to bands from U2 to ride to the stone roses to echo & the bunnymen all coming onto the canvas to provide a welcome and familiar colour, the high dials filter it all through a melodic filter of stylings ranging from the early mod leanings of the who to the jangly psyche-pop of the byrds.

all of which is not to say that the album is derivitive or immitative -- it is quite an original pastiche, have no doubt. but like many young bands these days, the high dials don't shy away from a love of music from the 80's. it makes for a very interesting blend, the melodies and harmonies sitting nicely against the keyboards and the ocassional sitar (!). the end result is an album that feels like an old friend, one that sits quite comfortably on the cd shelf next to it's forebears and amongst it's contemporaries.

standouts:

the gorgeous opener 'the holy ground', an infenctious rave-up that bears many a repeat listen. 'winter ghosts', which is bowie meets jethro tull by way of genesis -- and that's saying something! check out 'sick with the old fire' where the band conjures the ghost of the ocean blue, which they do as well on 'strandhill sands' and 'a river haunting'.

overall, i'm impressed -- i don't listen to as much rock as i used to as i find so much of it is plodding, stale, or disposeable. but the high dials album is an interesting and diverse collection of songs that keep things airy and wide, never wallowing in the densities and dark that so many bands choose to explore.

a most welcome breath of fresh air. check it out.

"

A musical treasure

David D. Dudley | Washington, DC | 12/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album weds melodic guitar parts, mostly in major keys, with catchy yet subtle rhythms. Each song is distinct, although they maintain a warm and consistent vibe throughout. Like any truly great album, I'm constantly changing my mind as to which song is my favorite; unlike many more pedestrian albums, I almost never find myself skipping over any.

They were the best live show (by far) of all the bands I saw in 2005, which must have included at least 30 concerts. If you're lucky enough to have them play in your town, make sure you go see them."

War of the wakening phantoms

Lawrence J. Ekman | 09/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Best CD I have bought this year. Songs are all excellent."

Best cd of the year

Shawn Solomon | 10/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All great songs. Many different sounds, from the sitar to the mandolin. Kind of hard to describe. some of it sounds like it's from the 70's and then it really sounds like it's from the 80's. Definetly worth a listen, best cd I've purchased in a while."

A 60's psychedelic shoegaze pop combo...

Charlie Quaker | Normal, IL. | 11/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The 2nd album from Montreal's High Dials takes liberal doses of 60's psychedelic pop and mixes it with the ringing feedback drone-tones of England's shoegazer movement to create a magically fresh and sanguine sound; filled with a warmth and soaring, vibrant earnestness that is all too rare among most bands of our time. "War Of the Wakening Phantoms" is a joyous masterpiece that rolls along on cascading waves of guitar and layers of vocal harmonies in search of a pop psychedelic wonderland. Gorgeous melodies with stick-in-your-head hooks flirt with folk-rock overtones, then dive headlong into jagged, trippy riffs ripped from the marshmallow acid-head House Of Love.

You'll hear elements of shoegazer icons like Ride, Slowdive & Moose; contemporary psych/pop rockers like Brian Jonestown Massacre & Super Furry Animals; and a diverse array of 60's/70's influences from bands such as the Byrds, Kinks, Big Star, Zombies...even a touch of Donovan and Dylan. The album's openers, "The Holy Ground" & "Soul In Lust" are both powerful, rhythmic rock songs, with melodies you won't soon forget. "Our Time Is Coming Soon" melds a magically harmonic chorus line with an insistently pounding verse, augmented by an angelic fly-by with electric sitar. "Strandhill Sands" begins with a wash of wah-wah guitar that rolls easily into the soft underbelly of love, where an irresistibly sad, heavenly voice is oh-so-gently mutilated by rolling knives of gorgeous guitar sounds: A pure example of absolute beauty as disturbed entity. "Sick With the Old Fire", arguably the most memorable song here, radiates with a stunningly beautiful intensity, offering up the verse as sacrificial manna to the devouring Gods of the grinding, repetitive chorus. "The Lost Explorer" is a softly haunting, dreamy ballad that mixes 50's overtones with chiming guitars and poignant emotion. "Higher and Brighter" bounces along with a simplistic authenticity that recalls the more natural side of Blur or the Thrills. "Your Eyes Are A Door" is an 8 ½ minute epic ballad that only exists in the brief, fragile reality of post-orgasmic ecstasy: It's akin to the experience of hearing yourself drift in solitude--not really possible, but embraced in the pure, unconcerned splendor of the moment.

In making "War Of the Wakening Phantoms" the High Dials have created a new space. A space filled with the sparkly magic of gifted songwriting and the genuine joy of psychedelic pop perfection. They may not change the world, but for sixty minutes and forty three seconds, they've definitely made it a better place to be.

"

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