London’s High Vis reject comfortable numbness on the latest single from their forthcoming sophomore album Blending (Sept. 9, Dais), “Trauma Bonds.” The powerful song is our fourth preview of Blending after “Talk for Hours,” “Fever Dream” and the title track.
”‘Trauma Bonds’ was written after the news of another tragic suicide of one of our friends during lockdown,” frontperson Graham Sayle explains in a statement. “It forced us to reflect on how the death of young people had become so normalized within our group of friends that we had become numb to it. Friendships became Trauma Bonds and the gravity of these situations suppressed through toxic coping mechanisms. The song is a hopeful exploration into these feelings in an attempt to support each other through better communication and collective empathy.”
High Vis—Sayle (vocals), Martin Macnamara (guitar), Rob Hammeren (guitar), Rob Moss (bass) and Edward “Ski” Harper (drums)—deliver that call to emotional arms through anthemic, deceptively complex rock, with hints of shoegaze, post-punk and jangle-pop in its mix. The force of their performances batters down your inner barriers and lets the feeling flow out, but Sayle’s hooky vocal is more circumspect about what it takes to defeat apathy: “I wish I could say / Something sane to wash away / And annihilate the trauma that we save,” he laments before spotting a light at the end of that tunnel: “It might just take just one / Reason inside to carry on / Or something sharp to cut these trauma bonds.”
Listen to “Trauma Bonds” and see High Vis’ upcoming tour dates below. You can preorder Blending right here.
High Vis Tour Dates:
August
15 – London, UK @ Underworld !
19 – London, UK @ All Points East Festival
November
10 – London, UK @ Underworld #
(! w/ Fiddlehead & Militarie Gun)
(# w/ The Chisel, Ironed Out, Nekra)
