“Is it easy to live, with nothing to lose?”
Of the rising stars out of the UK, it would be difficult to ignore High Vis. They are a permanent fixture on line-ups either side of the Atlantic, with an ever-growing adoring audience who will shout their lyrics word-by-word to them at shows. It’s the sort of act that draws many into a new sound in an unassuming way. They have been impressive on record of late with 2022’s Blending seeing much praise. Now they release latest record, Guided Tour, a record that shows how High Vis can shine, yet it’s difficult to not see beyond the pastiche nature of their sound.
From the onset on the title track “Drop Me Out“, the 80s post-punk riffs are ever-present, reminiscent of the likes of New Order or The Undertones. These are injected with an energy on the grooves that has the force of something from a Fugazi record. The now well-known vocals of Sayle command each track, ever-similar to many Brit-pop acts of the 90s with their expansive nature and a tickle of reverb. Within all of the immediate presentation of High Vis, it’s always been somewhat odd how they’ve never been seen as a ‘retro‘ unit.
The track “Feeling Blessed” more than leans into the Brit-pop nature of vocal hooks with an introspective nature that Oasis and The Verve offered up at time, This reappears on later tracks such as “Untethered” and “Mind’s a Lie“. There is an attempt to perhaps draw on Joy Division‘s final record, Closer, especially in a narrative sense, as High Vis have previosuly commented on the nihilism that is enfolding England as a country.
It is probably here where the biggest fissure appears between what High Vis look to be, and what they are. There is a foreboding gloom to what Joy Divison produced, yet High Vis paint a scenery that fails to move emotionally, unlike what they managed with “Trauma Bonds” on their previous record. Sitting between the influences primarily of post-punk and Brit-pop, the former invokes a very one-dimensional view of class and society, zoning itself into the noughties along with the spectre of Danny Dyer style characters. Whereas post-punk was a closing epilogue to the culture of the 80s, soon replaced by the era of jungle in the 90s. With one foot in each genre, High Vis are the sound of culture clash, oversteeped in scattershot nostalgia.
There are moments that do punch through, both of which occur in the closing moments in “Mind’s a Lie“, which feels in the same vein to the aforementioned “Truama Bonds“. Sayle cuts through with the lines “Redemption so far beyond me, paranoid, alone and lonely“. The potent bass line and sample backing vocals that adding a heart and soul to the track, and too spark a magic that Guided Tour had been looking for on its previous ten tracks. It neatly moves into closer “Gone Forever“, as some gorgeous post-punk chords enter, even if they do perhaps fall into some of the previous criticisms. Oddly, it feels that High Vis reach their potential in the final lap of this run, now going beyond their influences that had made Guided Tour narrow.
While High Vis is a project that does struggle to escape their pastiche sound, and doesn’t always hit the strength of its influences. At its high points and in their live performances, they reach the heights of their past material, perhaps achieving a sound that never really had its day, nor connected with the base it deserved. Many of their influences saw dark and sorry endings or put themselves upon stages that were too separated from their source. High Vis have, so far, fully embraced the importance of close interaction when it comes to touring their sound. Despite all of their shortcomings, Guided Tour perhaps makes for something is worth celebrating beyond the sums of its parts.
6/10
Guided Tour is out October 18th via Dais Records, and can be pre-order here.