The Dirty Nil Drop Softer Single “Spider Dream”

Wake up, sleepyheads. Today, The Dirty Nil share a new song called “Spider Dream,” and it’s a hazy detour into nostalgia and the surreal peace of nightmares. Described by the band as their “most Beatles-sounding song,” the track filters the torment of bad decisions through a dreamy and melodic lens.

Singer and guitarist Luke Bentham recalls:

“I woke up one morning, completely refreshed by a nightmare. It was a strange feeling, but enough to animate a song. I had also just watched the Beatles documentary that the Lord of the Rings fella made, so I was inspired to use more jangly chords than I usually do. It was a strange one to bring to the band, but the arrangement came together instantly, and it never changed from the first time we played it.”

The feverish “Spider Dream” is just one of many standout moments on The Lash, the Nil’s upcoming album out July 25th. All over the record, the Hamilton, Ontario band dives headfirst into something far more visceral and back-to-basics.

Without a moment to overthink, The Lash poured out of them, and they recorded the entire record in just over two weeks with up-and-coming producer and their actual front-of-house engineer, Vince Solveri. The result finds the band sounding more urgent and alive than ever before.

Everything about The Lash evokes a certain brutality. During a trip to the Vatican, Luke found unlikely inspiration in a dusty basement filled with forgotten bronze reliefs—one in particular, The Horrors of War, depicted two men fighting over a knife. That raw intensity became a guiding image for the album. To match that energy visually, the band enlisted UK designer Jack Sabbat, whose gritty, bootleg punk-flyer aesthetic helps make The Lash feel equally at home in a bin of old Crass records or a Medieval torture dungeon.

Thematically, The Lash trades his usual romantic optimism for a cathartic scream, tackling everything from music industry burnout to heartbreak.

Drummer Kyle Fisher jokes:

“I’ve been telling people this is Luke’s therapy record.”

Stripping back the glitz and glam, The Dirty Nil go full-throttle on what matters most: no frills, just ferocity. For fans of The Bronx, The Jesus Lizard, and Metz, this is a high-stakes, high-impact record from a band reclaiming their purpose after more than a decade of globe-trotting chaos and even a Juno Award to show for it.

The Lash Track Listing:

1. Gallop of the Hounds
2. Fail in Time
3. That Don’t Mean It Won’t Sting
4. Rock N’ Roll Band
5. This Is Me Warning Ya
6. Do You Want Me?
7. Spider Dream
8. They Won’t Beat Us
9. Hero Narrative
10. I Was A Henchman

The Dirty Nil “Spider Dream” single artwork

The Dirty Nil ‘The Lash’ album artwork