The best song about giving up drugs you’ll hear this week

(Image credit: The Dirty Nil)

I saw Canadian power trio The Dirty Nil play to around 60 people in Milton Keynes almost exactly a year ago. You would’ve thought they were playing to 6000.

There was pointing, muscle flexing, scissor-kicking and much banter with the audience. They were a thunderous mix of punk rock honesty and maximum R’n’B that was as tight as a cock ring. (The following day I saw Metallica play Twickenham. They played with all the passion of a bunch of millionaires ploughing through 'the hits' in a rugby stadium. The Dirty Nil: 1, Metallica: a dirty nil.)

New single Done With Drugs is an apparent piss-take of those performative Facebook posts where people claim to be changing their lives and feel the need to tell everyone about it. More importantly it’s got a huge chorus and a killer hook that had a worrying starting point.

“We were on tour with White Reaper,” says singer/guitarist Luke Bentham, “and I don't think I would've written that riff if I wasn't hanging out with [their guitarists] Tony [Esposito] and Hunter [Thompson]. They had just played with The Killers, so everyday we were always playing the Mr. Brightside riff together. I think that opened my mind to stadium-rock cheese, even more so than before.”

It’s the best anthem about getting older and giving up drugs you’ll hear this week. Funnier than your friends’ sad Facebook posturing, catchier than the Coronavirus, it’s rock music about posturing, not posturing rock music. For once.

Listen to it on your preferred music service. Or here's the video:

Scott is the Content Director of Music at Future plc, responsible for the editorial strategy of online and print brands like Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer, Prog, Guitarist, Guitar World, Guitar Player, Total Guitar etc. He was Editor in Chief of Classic Rock magazine for 10 years and Editor of Total Guitar for 4 years and has contributed to The Big Issue, Esquire and more. Scott wrote chapters for two of legendary sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson's books (For The Love Of Vinyl, 2009, and Gathering Storm, 2015). He regularly appears on Classic Rock’s podcast, The 20 Million Club, and was the writer/researcher on 2017’s Mick Ronson documentary Beside Bowie.