Companions of the Rosy Hours: Confident pop-rock of impeccable influences

In possession of a slew of great ’60s records with well-thumbed sleeves, Brighton’s Dials are rarely shy when it comes to acknowledging their sources. This second album glides effortlessly between the harmonic swoon of The Byrds (“Watch Her Walk Away”), the poppier elements of the Velvets (the Farfisa stab of “NY Radio”) and the child-like psych of Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd (“Good Morning Mr Magpie”). All are despatched with brio and genuine affection for every genre that crosses their radar. Terry Staunton

Right from the opening instrumental Sandycove – imagine surf guitar king Dick Dale fronting Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd – it’s plain The Dials are a band who wear their influences with pride. They sound like they’re having fun, too, whether kicking up a little country dust on the mandolin-laden title track… or even taking several leaves out of ELO’s book on the extended Good Morning Mr Magpie. Best of all there’s Watch Her Walk Away, a swirling slice of ’60s psychedelia with a Byrdsian Undertow. Peter Kane

Hailing from Brighton, The Dials’ bold claims of encompassing everything from psych to surf, through country folk, is a claim they answer utterly on Companions of the Rosy Hours. A band that never throw themselves wildly on a great idea, but instead nurture and raise it in absolute perfection… The Dials have made one of the most promising LPs in ages Richard S Jones

“I know it’s one of those albums I’m going to treasure for a long, long time” Mark Lamarr, BBC Radio 2

The Dials’ self titled debut, released a couple of years back, was a sprawling mass of head-shrivelling psych and sonic exploration tempered by cosmic acoustic balladry. It paid tribute to the likes of Pink Floyd and the Beatles’ more magically mysterious forays. It was a vast melting pot of sounds and ideas but its lengthy running time ultimately proved draining rather than absorbing.

It’s a tightly focused burst of strange energy that still manages to roam all over the sonic landscape, taking in surf instrumentals given gothic organ backing (opener Sandycove), falling-into-your-own-head Syd Barrett dreamscapes (Good Morning Mr Magpie) and rather straight-faced country ballads delivered in narcoleptic baritones (Blue Pine Yodel). The Dials are as energetically explorative as ever in their music and this energy proves far more intense crammed into so tight as juicy a package as this.

“If this record were a person it would wear a Nudie suit…An excellent debut 8/10″ David Cowling, Americana UK  click here to read the full review

“Many knowledgeable heads nod sagely in their direction; Gideon Coe and Mark Lamarr are fans, and now having heard the album, I understand why… a great band” Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2

“Really, really good” Dave Henderson, Mojo

“Well worth a pop… much to enjoy on the album” Gideon Coe,  Radio 6 Music

The Independent – October 2008 – “Top Tips for 2009″ Read more.

“A twanging country psych extravaganza. Right on!” The Fly

“From the Beatles to the Byrds, from Cash to the Clash, they take a little bit from everyone and mix it all up into an exhilarating musical stew” Jerry Jodice, The Great American Music Hour WRIR 973FM Virginia

“‘Lonely Boy’ is a splendid slice of 70s San Francisco style country, sweet melodies, pop hooks and sweeping lap steel” whisperin’ and hollerin’

“Holy Toledo! Say hello to my new favourite band: pure energy, hard-howling, Brit-infused honky-tonk, Spaghetti-Western-worthy music that hot diggity damn, you can really sink your chops into. The Dials proved to be the show of the night. Howl-hitting loud and as intoxicating as tequila, this band reminds me of the Soledad Brothers if they took speed. “Lonely Boy” and “Where Did Our Love Go” were pure awesomeness. Seriously, The Dials get on it.” Soundproof Magazine, Canada NXNE Review