Time doesn’t stand still for High Vis, and off the back of a year filled with plenty of raucous live performances, including Glastonbury, as well as Society Exists, a hometown festival for the band that was completely free to attend, the band presents their third full length album, ‘Guided Tour’.
Aiming to build on the monumental sound the band had managed to develop across previous releases ‘No Sense No Feeling’ and ‘Blending’, Guided Tour looks to truly push the boundaries of what the band is capable of. What remains consistent throughout however is the Scouse bark of vocalist Graham Sayle. Whether it’s uttered or yelled, Sayle’s vocals are what have previously helped to distinguish High Vis from the rest, and on Guided tour, they help to anchor down the band’s sound throughout the duration of the album as it begins to flourish sonically.
Opening track ‘Guided Tour’ starts dismal, with the early bass and drums helping to almost re-iterate the monotone nature of working life, but it’s the injection of those guitars that helps the track to truly blossom, alongside Sayle’s prose of course. The titular track invites listeners into its world, an open invitation for those looking for something more exciting; “If you need some help. I’ll be your guided tour. The life you wanted and more“.
The blend of Britpop-inspired swash and hardcore sharpness has become something of a hallmark trait for High Vis, and is something that hasn’t left for this album. Tracks like ‘Drop Me Out’ and ‘Mob DLA’ would invigorate even the most timid of souls to put on their moshing shoes, juxtaposed wonderfully with delightfully melodic moments like on ‘Deserve It’, or the spoken-word shoegaze of ‘Untethered’.
The band’s sound is deepened on tracks like ‘Farringdon’, a gothic interlude track brimming with tension and despair. Meanwhile, the single ‘Mind’s a Lie’ meshes together the band’s usual sonic experience of shimmering guitars and low-slung bass, with an all-new dimension, featuring layers of sampled female dance vocals, creating a rich and infectious groove.
There’s no doubt that while High Vis has certainly attempted to explore new avenues on a few of the tracks on this album, some can also feel rather pastiche. A syndrome of having such a distinguished sound perhaps. But considering the success of the previous two albums, I don’t full that this is perhaps as much of a criticism as others might want you to believe.
Overall, there should be no doubt that Guided Tour is set to take High Vis to places beyond anything they’ve done so far, it’s an album that helps to elevate their discography even further, a true hattrick of albums that any band would be jealous of. It might even be one of the best things you listen to this year, I certainly think it is.
