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High Vis

Feb 17, 2025 By Dom Gourlay Web Exclusive

Having emerged from the hardcore punk scene nearly a decade ago having spent years playing in various bands before that, the continued elevation of High Vis to their present status as one of the most exciting, must-see live bands on the planet is a testament to their hard work and tenacity. Tonight’s sold out show at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms following on from every other date on the tour so far to promote last year’s excellent third album, Guided Tour, which scored an impressive 8/10 on this very site last October. With a large queue braving the cold night air long before doors opened, its a race to get to the front once they finally do.

Which can only be a good thing for Nottingham’s Bloodworm. Playing to a near capacity room despite going on so early, their eight songs set goes down a treat in warming up the crowd and atmosphere as a result. The trio’s goth tinged post-punk has been receiving a wealth of attention both in and outside of their native city recently, and its easy to see why as the familiar strains of recent singles “Depths” and “Back Of A Hand” pave the way for future singles in waiting “The Crown” and “No Face”. Echoes of Bauhaus and Interpol shape the former while the latter bares the hallmarks of a dark disco dancefloor smash in waiting. Closing on the now customary “Cemetery Dance” - the song which got them noticed in the first place - culminating in the whole room moving in time with the music as if part of some communal dance party. 2025 promises to be a special year for Bloodworm.

Dallas outfit Narrow Head are an interesting anomaly. Mainly because their set is split in two, each half focusing on the two genres in which they specialise. The first part proves to be a masterful exercise in thinking man’s grunge that - there’s a distinct nod to Soundgarden and Alice In Chains in places as guitarists Kora Puckett and William Menjivar rise to the fore, their monstrous riffs providing a perfect foil for charismatic vocalist Jacob Duarte. Duarte himself takes centre stage during the second half of the set, which finds Narrow Head crossing the divide between hardcore, thrash and even nu metal. Together, they make a fascinating quandary and one UK audiences will hopefully be hearing more of in the future.

Onto tonight’s headliners, and its been a steady but stratospheric climb for High Vis from their humble beginnings in 2016. From the experimental debut No Sense No Feeling through to 2022’s critically acclaimed breakthrough long player Blending culminating in last year’s Guided Tour, they’ve become a phenomenon and one with an increasingly loyal following of hardcore devotees. Spread across the stage in linear fashion, with vocalist Graham Sayle occasionally edging to the front, High Vis are a formidable force in the flesh.

Playing a career spanning set that leaves no stones unturned, whether it be the raucous opening couplet of “Talk For Hours” and “Altitude” off the aforementioned Blending and No Sense No Feeling respectively that gives way to another live favourite from their formative years, “Walking Wires”.as crowd surfers come and go, the whole of the Rescue Rooms dancefloor becoming one giant moshpit in the process. “Drop Me Out” and the title track off the latest record provide timely reminders of why Guided Tour featured highly on so many end of year “Best Ofs” while further blasts from the past in the shape of “O151” and “Out Cold” further illustrate why High Vis inspired so much devotion from the outset.

While Sayle is an obvious focal point,often interjecting socially and politically aware ripostes between songs, the musicians that make up the band should not go unrecognised. Whether that be twin guitars tour de force Rob Hammeren and Martin MacNamara or taut rhythm section Edward Harper on drums and Jack Muncaster on bass. Former singles “Mind’s A Lie” and “Trauma Bonds” elicit further moshpit action while penultimate number “The Bastard Inside” seguing effortlessly into closer “Choose To Lose” makes for a compelling finale.

It’s probably fair to say High Vis will be headlining far bigger venues than this by the end of the year, so don’t pass up on the opportunity to see them in such intimate confines as this while you can.

Simply exhilarating.