It is almost impossible to over-estimate the effect of Slow on Canadian music. Formed in the mid-80s in Vancouver, and releasing only one album and one 7" on Zulu Records, the band has consistently been called one of the most influential punk rock bands in Canada and forerunners of the Seattle grunge scene. Perhaps most infamously, Slow is also the band that brought Expo 86 to its knees.  Not bad for a band that recorded only eight songs.  Slow was formed by Thomas Anselmi, Christian Thorvaldson, Stephen Hamm, and Terry Russell. Ziggy Sigmund was added to the line-up soon after as a second guitarist. The band released the 7" I Broke the Circle in 1985, followed by Against the Glass in 1986, which featured the legendary "Have Not Been the Same," one of the most iconic songs in Canadian music history. The song's name was later taken as the name for the CanRock Encyclopedia, published by ECW Press.  Slow's brand of rock n roll and punk rock has not aged one bit: Anselmi's voice is monstrous, the guitars seriously rock n roll, and the drummer is all energy and destruction. Against the Glass is the kind of album that could only be delivered by a veteran act of 20 years---or a bunch of genius teenagers with not much better to do.   

With indie rock fuzz-bombs and shout-along choruses, The Dirty Nil has an explosive sound harnessed through countless hours spent kicking up a racket in the suburban basements of Dundas, ON. The band’s raucous anthems pack a wallop on the debut album Higher Power — Pitchfork praised the LP’s “massive hooks,” and Brooklyn Vegan wrote that “The Dirty Nil sound destined to cut through all the noise.” The Hamilton-based band formed in 2006, as a duo featuring teenage high school pals Luke Bentham (guitar/vocals) and Kyle Fisher (drums). Quickly, the guys developed a sound that mixed the catchy muscle of ‘70s rock with the furious energy of punk. Kyle explains, “We all grew up liking classic rock music and playing classic rock songs and punk songs all the time.” After a few years of basement jam sessions, they added friend and fan David Nardi on bass. The band has since introduced long-time friend Ross Miller (bass/vocals) to the fold, taking over from Nardi. The Dirty Nil released a string of singles and EPs, and their fanbase spread from their hometown across the continent. They earned an admirer in NOFX’s Fat Mike, who asked the band to cut a single for his celebrated punk label Fat Wreck Chords (2014’s “Cinnamon” b/w “Guided by Vices”). They’ve hung out with underground hero Ian McKaye at the iconic Dischord House in Virginia, opened for FLAG, and took part in Warped Tour. In early 2016, The Dirty Nil released the much-anticipated debut album Higher Power through Dine Alone Records. With 11 songs full of shrieking feedback, in- the-red distortion and titanic choruses, it’s a coming-of-age party for three friends who have remained true to their rock roots without allowing themselves to be confined by genre. Since its release, the band’s momentum has only increased with global tours alongside Alexisonfire, Billy Talent and Monster Truck and recognition from the likes of Kerrang! in the UK, who nominated the band for ‘Best International Newcomer’, Visions Magazine in Germany who named Higher Power their #2 album of 2106, and at home in Canada where the band recently won a JUNO Award for ‘Breakthrough Group of the Year.’ Not content sitting still, The Dirty Nil have announced the forthcoming release of Minimum R&B. Comprised of eleven tracks from the band’s back catalogue, the album will include one unreleased track, a combination of 7”s, and the EP ‘Smite’ all in one place. Dine Alone and Fat Wreck Chords have joined forces to bring us this compilation which will be available digitally and in physical formats on April 28, 2017. The band already have tours confirmed in UK, Europe and Canada before the summer of 2017, and there’s more touring in the works. For The Dirty Nil, there truly is no end in sight.

"Combining scab-peeling punk with speak-shout vocals reminiscent of the Hold Steady, this band of townies from London, Ontario, ruthlessly skewers hypocrites, McSweeney's snobs, drunk assholes, and God, just to name a few." - Pitchfork