Hardcore band High Vis share ‘Trauma Bonds’ video
Formed in 2016, British hardcore band High Vis quickly earned a following in the DIY scene with their aggressive live performances and no-bullshit songs that address everything from class issues to the struggles of everyday existence. The band, which consists of Graham Sayle (vocals), Martin Macnamara (guitar), Rob Hammeren (guitar), Rob Moss (bass) and Edward ‘Ski’ Harper (drums), delivered their exceptional second full-length album, Blending, in the autumn of last year.
Last week, the band released a moving new video for their song, ‘Trauma Bonds’. Sayle explains: “Filmed and directed by Jonah West and shot over the course of a year, the video is an emotionally charged portrait of Jamz and Sean. Two people negotiating the world whilst living in the shadow of trauma. The video is dedicated to everyone carrying the weight of grief for those taken too soon, and those struggling with their own existence. When you’re going through hell, keep going”.
The band recently announced a UK and EU tour this coming February, and it sold out within moments. High Vis is now about to realise their dream of touring the US and embark on their first-ever North American run of dates. The tour will begin on Saturday, April 1st, at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn and continues across Canada, Chicago, Nashville, Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities. Tickets were released on Friday, January, 20th.
The violent art-post-punk that defines High Vis’ sound is as fierce as any hardcore band while sonically expanding beyond the confines of any genre or scene. Blending is about incorporating all these new threads and components into what the band stands for to create something new, as the album’s title suggests.
Blending demonstrates how High Vis’s musical style has developed since their outstanding 2019 debut, No Sense No Feeling, and how their lyrical content has advanced significantly. Speaking candidly about poverty and class issues, frontman Graham Sayle’s lyrics have always focused on the poor and abandoned communities across Britain that are sinking below the surface. Telling NME back in June 2020, Sayle’s said: “People are changing their tune and realising that the working class are the backbone of this country”.
He continued: “It was just after my uncle died from asbestosis from working on the docks, and he was the first person to bring the [left-wing newspaper] Socialist Worker up to Merseyside. At the moment, I’m a bit amped up on stuff like that”.
This time out, Sayle hasn’t lost any of his social consciousness but has cast his net closer to the shore, looking at himself and examining his own emotional world. As a result, they have produced something that feels more universal, extends a helping hand to people, and ultimately conveys a message of optimism.
Blending is out now across physical formats and digital platforms via Dais Records.
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