The Dirty Nil - Fuck Art review

Every once in a while one of these bands that you THINK you know comes up. Like you see the name float around, you attach it to the bands around it and you think you know exactly what they sound like. In most cases you’ve probably never even heard a track! It just becomes easy to attach them to crowd their put in. For a very long time I knew The Dirty Nil existed and for whatever reason, I don’t even know why, I pinned them as somewhere in the metal camp. For exactly 9 seconds into Fuck Art I was convinced I was correct.

Before “Doom Boy,” the opening track on this effort becomes a radio-ready but also very moshable pop punk banger, it has an intro riff sounding like something out of a trash metal 80s band. As these opening seconds played out I thought “okay, I was right, I power through and we call this one an in between and don’t even mention it.” Then that shift happens. What follows is a familiar yet somehow fresh sing-along able song where the narrator is courting a girl, asking her to hang out in his mom’s borrowed car and listen to his favorite music. Even name dropping Cro-Mags, Turnstile and Slayer, all of which make sense for what we’ve heard so far. As if the fake out wasn’t enough we get more genre mixing with a breakdown complete with death growls and even a guitar solo. So, by the end of this track, I feel a bit lied to, (you know, by myself) but between the flurry of genres and the humor present I am so, so ready to hear more.

“Blunt Force Concussion” has another, albeit not as impactful, sort of fake-out intro where it starts with a mellow guitar lead and makes you think the song is going to be a ballad. (That’d be weird this early in and maybe it was just me but, still..) Instead we get something true to what we heard on the track before. A little more bass driven and this time describes kind of the opposite of “Doom Boy” where the singer does not want to commit to a relationship and wants to keep it casual.

“Wanna take a walk? We don’t have to talk, it’s probably better that way

“And it’s getting pretty late,” yeah, that’s what I’ll say, when I leave the check to pay”

Being a key line here of just toxicity and just sucking enjoyment out of the person. The choruses and bridge here remind me of things like a Green Day or a Sum 41 but, like, in the good way where they sound really big and exciting and like they could ring through an arena. The piano reprise of the chorus’ vocal melody is a nice touch too.

The next track “Elvis ‘77” has some cool bits for sure. Has a country riff here and there and even some Elvis-like vocal melodies. What got me here was between the “why didn’t you call your mama more?” in the chorus and the voicemail at the end I thought it was painting a picture of some kind of family issues and I wanted to know more. Looking into the lyrics though it turns out its an imagining of what Elvis’ final thoughts were! Pretty interesting there.

“Done with Drugs” really floored me above all other tracks with it’s heavily bass driven instrumental and Coheed & Cambria sounding vocal melodies and guitar work. The lyrics here keep up with the humorous side but are also oddly inspiring describing coming up in a party-heavy atmosphere but looking around one day and seeing the drugs and raging aren’t really making anyone happy. The chorus here stating that the writer is “done with drugs, I hope they’re done with me.” Even exploring other avenues of enjoyment with lines like:

“Maybe I’ll try origami or jiu jitsu and walk around Ikea with you”

“Ride or Die” takes some of that thrash and punk that I THOUGHT I was getting myself into from the start but actually applies it in a real way. Lead by a double time instrumental that sounds super punk and having lyricism like 

“You’re born alone you die alone and that’s the truth”

Really, really drawing from the inspirations name dropped right at the start of the record.

“Hang Yer Moon” just kinda serves to remind us why we’re here. The bass intro at the start for all intents and purposes sounds like it SHOULD be boring but manages to sound so exciting. (Its quite vibey too to keep you on your toes.) The do-do-do dropped in the vocals reminds you that this record is to be had fun with and we even get another thrash mid section too.

“Damage Control” offers a nice break in the tracklist. Slow, vibey chorus that sounds almost like FIDLAR actually. Does have some double time beats and a breakdown but it’s a little lowkey and starts us on the lulls of the record. Not that these songs are bad but “Hello Jealousy” just reminds me in both tone and concept of the Gin Blossoms’ “Hello Jealousy” and the following “Possession” gives me faint hints of… some band to be honest I cannot place and returns to that arena rock sound. Again this is still a fantastic section of the record but compared to the rest of the material presented this is definitely the lower point.

“To the Guy Who Stole My Bike” doesn’t offer much of a change in pace keeping with the humor and wit, bringing back some of those country vibes. The lyrics here however I feel are the best on the whole thing which talk about letting those who have wronged you live but knowing life will catch up to them as well as wronging people yourself.

“One More and the Bill” is exactly what it’s title suggests. It just closes the record with all the ideas the previous songs have brought forward and it's only really noteworthy point is it’s chorus’ vocal melody.

So, I enjoyed this! It surprised me! Fuck Art doesn’t bring any fresh ideas really and it REALLY wears it’s influences on it’s sleeve. (To the point of straight out name dropping them.) In spite of all of this though it really manages to be exciting and has had me coming back for more and more throughout the past couple of weeks.