Hamilton, Ontario’s The Dirty Nil unveil their fifth album, The Lash, via Dine Alone Records. Ultimately, The Lash sounds exactly like what the title implies – a cold, hard crack of the whip by the Canadian rock band, one that snaps them with a much needed reset after nearly 20 years of exploring the light.
Following the hardcore-laced heat of “Fail in Time” and the snarling honesty of “Rock N’ Roll Band,” the record’s focus track, “This Is Me Warning Ya,” showcases a strikingly different side of the band — cinematic, spacious, and surprisingly romantic. “This is Me Warning Ya” trades distortion for orchestration, bringing in violin and cello to build a darkly elegant backdrop for Luke Bentham’s crooning vocals.
The track taps into the raw emotionality that defines The Lash, while highlighting the album’s most intimate, string-laden moment.
Listen to The Lash HERE.
Watch Bentham’s solo live performance of “This is Me Warning Ya” HERE.
I was definitely on a Frank Sinatra listening kick. I wrote it really quickly and was happy with it. There were no revisions or alterations from the first draft. When we recorded it, our friend Sara Danae came in to play violin on what I had laid down, it really made it sound lush. We asked if she could also play some cello as well. Despite never playing one before, she bowed out a simple but beautiful passage and I was over the moon with the final result.– Luke Bentham on “This is Me Warning Ya.”
Watch your mouth
Keep your ears open wide
The LashTracklisting:
2. Fail in Time
3. That Don’t Mean It Won’t Sting
6. Do You Want Me?
7. Spider Dream
8. They Won’t Beat Us
9. Hero Narrative
10. I Was A Henchman
Everything about The Lash evokes a certain sort of brutality.
During a trip to the Vatican, Bentham found inspiration in some of its forgotten art: I was in a very dusty part of the basement, and they had these crazy bronze reliefs that were some of the most brutal things I’ve ever seen. There was a particular one called The Horrors of War. It was two guys fighting over a knife. That image ended up guiding a lot of this record.
From there, the band brought in UK designer Jack Sabbat for his acerbic, bootleg punk-flyer style, assuring The Lash would look right at home in a beat-up bin of old Crass records or in a Medieval torture dungeon.
Thematically, the album’s 10 tracks trade Bentham’s usual happy-go-lucky romanticism for a cathartic vent session about everything from music industry bullsh*t to the dissolution of a relationship. Drummer and co-conspirator Kyle Fisher jokes: I’ve been telling people that this is Luke’s therapy record.
Since forming in 2006, The Dirty Nil have always embraced the flashier side of punk. But with The Lash, they strip it all down to the essentials – just two friends in a room, playing like everything is on the line.
For fans of The Jesus Lizard, The Bronx, and Metz, The Lash is a high-stakes rock record from a band that has spent over a decade tearing up stages, building a worldwide following, and even winning a JUNO Award for Breakthrough Band in 2017. They’ve played the game and jumped through the hoops – now, The Dirty Nil are doing things entirely on their own terms.
The Dirty Nil will be on tour with Heart Attack Man, Carpool, and Dear Seattle this summer. All tickets are on sale HERE.
June 4, 2025 – Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA
June 5, 2025 – Rec Room, Buffalo, NY
June 8, 2025 – Empire Underground, Albany, NY
June 10, 2025 – Brighton Music Hall, Boston, MA
June 11, 2025 – Amityville Music Hall, Long Island, NY
June 13, 2025 – Brooklyn Meadows, Brooklyn, NY
June 14, 2025 – The Foundry @ The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
June 16, 2025 – Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PA
June 17, 2025 – The Canal Club, Richmond, VA
June 19, 2025 – Motorco Music Hall, Durham, NC
June 20, 2025 – The Radio Room, Greenville, SC
June 21, 2025 – The Social, Orlando, FL
June 22, 2025 – Gramps, Miami, FL
June 24, 2025 – The Loft, Atlanta, GA
June 25, 2025 – Eastside Bowl, Nashville, TN
June 27, 2025 – Delmar Hall, St. Louis, MO
June 28, 2025 – Hi-Fi, Indianapolis, IN
June 29, 2025 – Manchester Music Hall, Lexington, KY
July 8, 2025 – The Shelter, Detroit, MI
July 9, 2025 – Vivarium, Milwaukee, WI
July 10, 2025 – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
July 11, 2025 – Because Beer Festival – Hamilton, ON (The Dirty Nil only)
July 12, 2025 – Aby’s Rapid City, Rapid City, SD
July 13, 2025 – Wooly’s, Des Moines, IA
July 16, 2025 – The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
July 18, 2025 – The Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
July 20, 2025 – The Black Sheep, Colorado Springs, CO
July 21, 2025 – Marquis Theater, Denver, CO
July 23, 2025 – Soundwell, Salt Lake City, UT
July 24, 2025 – Shrine Social Club, Boise, ID
July 25, 2025 – The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
July 26, 2025 – Rickshaw Theater, Vancouver, Canada
July 27, 2025 – Hawthorne Theatre, Portland, OR
July 29, 2025 – Goldfield Trading Post, Sacramento, CA
July 30, 2025 – Cornerstone Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
July 31, 2025 – Strummer’s, Fresno, CA
August 1, 2025 – Lodge Room Highland Park, Los Angeles, CA
August 2, 2025 – The Nile Theater, Mesa, AZ
August 4, 2025 – Lowbrow Palace, El Paso, TX
August 5, 2025 – RBC, Dallas, TX
August 6, 2025 – Paper Tiger, San Antonio, TX
August 8, 2025 – Come and Take It Live, Austin, TX
August 9, 2025 – Beer City Music Hall, Oklahoma City, OK
The Dirty Nil will also perform at the CNE Bandshell in Toronto, ON on August 27, 2025. Tickets available for purchase HERE.
ONTARIO TOUR DATES:
September 11 – Barrie, ON – Rec Room
September 12 – London, ON – London Music Hall
September 13 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse
September 14 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse
September 16 – Oshawa, ON – Biltmore Theatre
September 18 – Peterborough, ON – The Venue
September 19 – Kingston, ON – Broom Factory
September 20 – Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre
September 21 – Montreal, QC – Café Campus
September 23 – Vandorf, ON – Harmony Hall (*)
September 25 – Burnstown, ON – Neat Café (*)
September 26 – Galt, ON – Farm League Brewing (*)
September 27 – Windsor, ON – Meteor (*)
September 28 – Windsor, ON – Meteor (*)
(*) NO Heart Attack Man on these dates.
COMMON THREAD TOUR DATES
With Spanish Love Songs
October 9, 2025 – Szene – Vienna, AT
October 10, 2025 – Club Cann – Stuttgart, DE
October 11, 2025 – Statbahnhoff, Schweinfurt, DE
October 12, 2025 – Legend 54 – Milan, IT
October 14, 2025 – Dynamo – Zurich, CH
October 15, 2025 – Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, DE
October 16, 2025 – Knust – Hamburg, DE
October 18, 2025 – Common Thread Tour – Oberhausen, DE
October 19, 2025 – Common Thread Tour – Brussels, BE
October 20, 2025 – Common Thread Tour – Haarlem, NL
October 25, 2025 – Common Thread Tour – London, UK
October 26, 2025 – Common Thread Tour – Leeds, UK
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