High Vis

Vocalist Graham Sayle grew up in New Brighton, Merseyside, moving to London at nineteen to study at Goldsmiths, University of London. There, he became involved in the city's hardcore punk scene, forming the bands Dirty Money with Burscough native Rob Moss, then Tremors with Moss and Edward "Ski" Harper.{{cite web |last1=Baines |first1=Huw |title=Bob Vylan, Witch Fever and High Vis are propelling punk into a vital new era |url=https://www.kerrang.com/bob-vylan-witch-fever-high-vis-2000trees-festival-uk-punk-hardcore-politics-interview-cover-story |website=Kerrang! |date=21 June 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} After Tremors disbanded in 2012, Harper began writing music influenced by post-punk. This culminated in the 2016 formation of High Vis,{{cite web |last1=Hutchcraft |first1=Jak |title="I have a feeling it's all going to kick off": High Vis are soundtracking a time of crisis |url=https://theface.com/music/hi-vis-interview-graham-sayle-blending-album-graffiti-hardcore-furniture |website=The Face |date=28 September 2022 |access-date=2 September 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Scott |title=High Vis: The Best of What's Next |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/high-vis/high-vis-the-best-of-whats-next |website=Paste |access-date=2 September 2023}} with a lineup rounded out by Sayle, Moss and guitarists Romain Bruneau and Rob Hammeren. The band took its name from the colloquial abbreviation of high-visibility clothing, with Sayle explaining in an interview with NME that "It is the unifying clothing item of the working class. And it also just alienates you completely if you put a high-vis on, nobody wants to see you or speak to you unless they want something."

At the beginning of 2017, the band released the EPs I and II, then on 7 December 2017, the band released their third EP III.{{cite web |title=London Post-Punk Band High-Vis Have Released A New 7inch |url=https://www.kerrang.com/london-post-punk-band-high-vis-released-a-new-7inch |website=Kerrang! |date=7 December 2017 |access-date=2 September 2023}} Their debut album No Sense No Feeling was released on 7 December 2019, however only a few months later the COVID-19 lockdowns began, leaving the band unable to perform. Around this time, Bruneau departed from the band to move back to Paris, leading to the band hiring Martin MacNamara.{{cite web |last1=NEWTON |first1=CALEB R. |title=INTERVIEW: HIGH VIS TALK HOPEFUL, REFLECTIVE NEW RECORD, 'BLENDING' |url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/interviews/interview-high-vis-talk-hopeful-reflective-new-record-blending/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} In the following months, Sayle and Harper entered the studio, culminating in the release of the Society Exists EP (2020).

On 15 April 2022, the band released the single "Talk For Hours".{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title='In Defense of the Genre' April roundup (best songs of the month included) |date=2 May 2022 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/in-defense-of-the-genre-april-roundup-best-songs-of-the-month-included-2/ |access-date=2 September 2023}}

On 4 June 2022, they announced the release of their second album Blending for 9 September, which would feature "Talk For Hours", and released the single "Fever Dream".{{cite web |last1=Sacher |first1=Andrew |title=High Vis announce new album 'Blending,' share "Fever Dream" |date=14 June 2022 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/high-vis-announce-new-album-blending-share-fever-dream/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} On 15 September, they released the single "0151".{{cite web |title=Hear the driving new anthem from High Vis, "0151" |date=15 September 2022 |url=https://www.treblezine.com/high-vis-0151-stream/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} On 24 January 2023, they released a music for the album's song "Trauma Bonds".{{cite web |last1=Markham |first1=Samuel |title=Hardcore band High Vis share 'Trauma Bonds' video |date=24 January 2023 |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/high-vis-share-trauma-bonds-video/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} Between 1 and 15 April 2023, they embarked on a headline tour of the United States and Canada,{{cite web |last1=LaPierre |first1=Megan |title=High Vis Plot First North American Tour for 2023 |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/high_vis_plot_first_north_american_tour_for_2023 |website=Exclaim! |access-date=2 September 2023}} followed by another tour of the country from 28 July to 23 August, which featured both headline dates and festival appearances including Sound and Fury, Riot Fest and Furnace Fest.{{cite web |last1=Gregory |first1=Allie |title=High Vis Map Out West Coast Tour |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/high_vis_map_out_west_coast_tour |website=Exclaim! |access-date=2 September 2023}} In the summer of 2023, they band performed at both Outbreak Festival, 2000 Trees festival,{{cite web |last1=Law |first1=Sam |title=20 bands you can't miss at this weekend's 2000trees |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-20-bands-you-cant-miss-at-2000trees-2023-heriot-bob-vylan-zulu-high-vis-militarie-gun-mimi-barks-festival |website=Kerrang! |date=3 July 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} as well as at Reading and Leeds Festivals.{{cite web |last1=Ruskell |first1=Nick |title=The big review: Reading Festival 2023 |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-big-review-reading-2023-sleep-token-scowl-don-broco-hot-milk-you-me-at-six |website=Kerrang! |date=31 August 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} Between 15 and 28 October 2023, they headlined European tour.{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Emily |title=High Vis announce autumn headline tour |url=https://www.kerrang.com/high-vis-announce-autumn-headline-tour |website=Kerrang! |date=24 May 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}}

The band released the one-off single "Forgot To Grow" on 25 October 2023, which was included in a compilation of Dais Records tracks DAIS223.{{cite web |last1=Rettig |first1=James |title=High Vis – “Forgot to Grow” |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2240377/high-vis-forgot-to-grow/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=28 September 2024}}

On 11 June 2024, they released the single "Mob DLA".{{cite web |last1=Chelosky |first1=Danielle |title=High Vis – “Mob DLA” |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2267331/high-vis-mob-dla/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=12 June 2024}} This was followed by the announcement of their third album Guided Tour, to be released on 18 October 2024. The second single released was the house and garage influenced "Mind's A Lie".{{cite web |last1=Aubrey |first1=Elizabeth |title=High Vis announce new album ‘Guided Tour’ with ferocious single ‘Mind’s A Lie’ |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/high-vis-announce-new-album-guided-tour-with-ferocious-single-minds-a-lie-3780173 |website=NME |access-date=26 Sep 2024}} This was followed in September 2024 by the single "Drop Me Out"{{cite web |last1=Breihan |first1=Tom |title=High Vis – “Drop Me Out” |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2280742/high-vis-drop-me-out/music/ |website=Stereogum |access-date=28 September 2024}}

In September 2024 the band contributed to the song "Stomach" from the Corpus II Ep 2 by New York band Show Me the Body.{{cite web |last1= Kamiński |first1=Karol |title=SHOW ME THE BODY unveils more raw experimentation with “CORPUS II” EP |url=https://idioteq.com/show-me-the-body-unveils-more-raw-experimentation-with-corpus-ii-ep/ |website=Idioteq |access-date=28 September 2024}}

Their music has been categorised by critics as hardcore punk,{{cite web |last1=Richards |first1=Will |title=Band To Watch: High Vis |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2189424/band-to-watch-high-vis/interviews/band-to-watch/ |website=Stereogum |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=1 September 2023}} indie rock,{{cite web |last1=Richards |first1=Will |title=High Vis talk Flow Festival, new music and covering Oasis: "I'm fully unwilling to compromise" |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/festivals-blog/high-vis-band-interview-new-album-flow-festival-3471551 |website=NME |date=21 July 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} post-punk{{cite web |last1=Cartledge |first1=Luke |title=Fiery punks High Vis: "People are realising that the working class are the backbone of this country" |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/high-vis-interview-2020-2688412 |website=NME |date=15 June 2020 |access-date=2 September 2023}} and post-hardcore, incorporating elements of Britpop, oi!,{{cite web |last1=Lacombe |first1=JM |title=High Vis Refine Their Vision on the Boundless 'Blending' |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/high_vis_blending_album_review |website=Exclaim! |access-date=2 September 2023}} house music,{{cite web |last1=Phillips |first1=Stephanie |title=High Vis: 'It'd be nice if we had the opposite trajectory to most bands' |url=https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/features/high-vis-itd-be-nice-if-we-had-the-opposite-trajectory-to-most-bands |access-date=2 September 2023}} dance music, gothic rock,{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Mia |title=Anger's an easy emotion': working-class punks High Vis find hardcore's vulnerable side |website=The Guardian |date=21 September 2022 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/sep/21/angers-an-easy-emotion-working-class-punks-high-vis-find-hardcores-vulnerable-side |access-date=2 September 2023}} punk rock,{{cite web |title=The 40 Best New Bands Of 2022 |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2203077/best-new-bands-artists-2022/lists/best-new-bands/ |website=Stereogum |date=26 October 2022 |access-date=2 September 2023}} baggy, psychedelic music,{{cite web |last1=Terich |first1=Jeff |title=High Vis get a little bit nicer |date=8 September 2022 |url=https://www.treblezine.com/high-vis-interview-little-bit-nicer/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} shoegaze{{cite web |last1=Gardner |first1=Noel |title=Straight Hedge! Noel Gardner Reviews Punk & HC For October |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/32188-high-vis-long-knife-zero-again-review |website=The Quietus |access-date=2 September 2023}} and Madchester.

Their music makes use of jangly guitar and hardcore style drum playing. Sayle's vocals are often more similar to hardcore's shouted vocals than standard singing, while also emphasising his scouse accent. The band's lyrics early on were angry and expressed hopelessness, while later on often discuss pushing through a traumatic upbringing to better oneself. In a 2023 interview, Sayle reflected that since 2020, "A lot of the subject matter [of his lyrics became] just things that I was kind of reflecting on in therapy", also stating in a Paste magazine article he believes "It's really easy to hide behind anger if you play in a hardcore band... That’s easy. Standing there, just having a microphone and singing is hard".{{cite web |last1=Russell |first1=Scott |title=High Vis: The Best of What's Next |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/high-vis/high-vis-the-best-of-whats-next |website=Paste |access-date=2 September 2023}} Class struggle is also a common theme in their lyrics,{{cite magazine |last1=Pelly |first1=Jenn |title=NIGHT LIFE High Vis |url=https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/night-life/high-vis |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=2 September 2023}} as are references to the singer's Merseyside upbringing, such as the song "0151" named for the county's dialling code.{{cite web |last1=Park |first1=Sue |title=Blending High Vis |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/high-vis-blending/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=2 September 2023}}

In an article for Stereogum, writer Will Richards called their music "For hardcore fans wanting something a little sweeter or indie fans after some crunch or grit". Revolver writer Eli Enis likened them to "what the Stone Roses would sound like if they were on Dischord Records".{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=5 ARTISTS YOU NEED TO KNOW: MAY 2022 |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/5-artists-you-need-know-may-2022#high-vis |website=Revolver |date=25 May 2022 |access-date=2 September 2023}} Rolling Stone writer Sophie Porter said they merge the "tightly wound energy and seething passion of hardcore, softened (albeit slightly) with a post-punk maturity and a dash of Britpop idealism".{{cite magazine |last1=Porter |first1=Sophie |title=High Vis: 'You can stay positive and change things on a small scale' |url=https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/features/high-vis-you-can-stay-positive-and-change-things-on-a-small-scale-32406/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=31 August 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} Brooklyn Vegan said of Blending "the band really found their sound, dropping a pin in mid-’90s Manchester, part Happy Mondays, part Oasis, and more than a little of the Verve's stadium atmospherics in there too, all filtered through their hard-charging, aggressive past."{{cite web |title=10 Great 2022 Albums You Might've Missed |date=13 January 2023 |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/10-great-2022-albums-you-mightve-missed/ |access-date=2 September 2023}} Loud and Quiet writer Dominic Haley described their sound as "a frankly out-there melding of Judge style Youth Crew, Sisters of Mercy-like goth and '90s Britpop".{{cite web |last1=Haley |first1=Dominic |title=DIY punks High Vis: "It's shit, but we'll get through it" |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/high-vis-its-shit-but-well-get-through-it/ |website=Loud and Quiet |access-date=2 September 2023}}

They have cited influences including Gang of Four, the Stone Roses,{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Stephen |title=Five new bands you need to hear if you love Blur |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/new-bands-fans-blur |website=Metal Hammer |date=31 May 2023 |access-date=2 September 2023}} the Cure, Bauhaus, Wipers, the U.K. Subs, Chromatics, Hüsker Dü, the Chameleons and the Sound.

• Graham Sayle – vocals (2016–present)
• Rob Hammeren – guitar (2016–present)
• Edward "Ski" Harper – drums (2016–present)
• Martin MacNamara – guitar (2018–present)
• Jack Muncaster – bass (2024–present)

;Former

• Romain Bruneau – guitar (2016–2018)
• Rob Moss – bass (2016–2024)

;Albums

• No Sense No Feeling (2019)
• Blending (2022)
• Guided Tour (2024)

;EPs

• I (2017)
• II (2017)
• III (2017)
• Society Exists (2020)

;Singles

• "Walking Wires" (2019)
• "Talk For Hours" (2022)
• "Fever Dream" (2022)
• "Forgot to Grow" (2023)
• "Mob DLA" (2024)
• "Mind's a Lie" (2024)
• "Stomach" (Show Me the Body featuring High Vis) (2024)
• "Drop Me Out" (2024)

{{Reflist}}

Category:2016 establishments in England

Category:Musical groups established in 2016

Category:English post-punk music groups

Category:British hardcore punk groups

Category:Indie rock groups from London

Category:British post-hardcore musical groups