By the time Blur were decrying the downtrodden English middle class, they had already soared beyond it, riding high as their records climbed the UK charts. So had Oasis, who armed their hard-working Mancunian credo against the quasi-posh art school boys in Blur. Whether the subject was a disgruntled civil servant or low pleasures, Britpop is eternally tied to the UK's class tensions. Despite their deep roots in the UK hardcore scene, London five-piece High Vis build on that long tradition. On their third album, Guided tourpresent a rousing Britpop manifesto that turns grime and drudgery into raw power ballads.
Although his bandmates – bassist Jack Muncaster, guitarists Martin MacNamara and Rob Hammaren and drummer Edward “Ski” Harper – hail from all corners of the UK and Ireland, High Vis frontman Graham Sayle grew up in a working-class family in North West England. In the group's song “0151”, he sang about his late uncle, a former shipyard worker and union member who died of asbestosis. “You'll live and die on the banks of the Mersey,” he sang, warning of the “suffering sold as pride” he saw while living in a city affected by Margaret Thatcher's “managed decline”. The first two albums of High Vis—2019 No meaning, no emotion and Mixingfrom 2022—were as battered and battered as the people who approached.
Producer Jonah Falco, who manned the decks Mixingand has sculpted UK punk records from Chisel and Chubby and the Gang, it deserves some credit for the blatant joy it pushes Guided tour. But much of that blinding High Vis sheen is given off by the personal triumphs of the bandmates. Many members quit their day jobs to pursue music full-time. Sale quit drinking, got married and stuck with therapy. However, High Vis are still pragmatic, and even a song called “Feeling Bless” is tempered by dull images of “metallic smoke” and “killing dreams by Clipper light”. Sayle does not attribute his blessed existence to any higher purpose, arguing that “luck or fate” are equally viable explanations.
Rapture, then, is largely decisive. “Feeling Bless” is a soaring anthem that soars to bursts of reverb and rock-god guitar. Sayle's sober vignettes reveal his substantial grip on the world, but it's pleasant enough to sit back and let Sayle's massive chorus and extended Scouse accent wash over you. The title track is equally happy, sharing DNA with it Leisure-era Blur and, dare I say it, the early work of countrymen U2. “Guided Tour” turns into frenetic high-pitched guitar and cuts with Doc Martens pounding the pavement. Sayle's opening cry—”You're desperate to feel more/For once in your life”—could be the driving lust behind all of High Vis's music: the search for something gilded among a pile of scraps.
