New Band of the Week: High Regard

Hertfordshire band High Regard have honed a loud, raucous but infectious pop/rock hybrid that they describe as “energetic, moody and memorable.”

The trio of Georgia Casey (vocals), Matt Smith (bass) and Tom Townsend (guitar) started out when George and Tom met at college. They played in a couple of bands together before forming High Regard, then brought in Matt to complete the lineup towards the end of 2021.

We first met the trio through the release of Dead To Me, which was released last month and features guest vocals from Charlie Rolfe from our former New Band of the Week As Everything Unfolds. It starts out with the laid-back vocals “Lying in my bed in my makeup, Sitting on the floor tryna work out how, It all went wrong, Gathered the debris to write up this song.” Chunky guitars kick in as the vocals build and develop into a catchy chorus “Where have you gone, When did I arrive, Arrive, You’d be fucking dead to me, If I didn’t have this much sympathy, Now I’m writing you out this symphony, Simply dead to me.”

It slows down again briefly, before heavy guitars and a distant synth lead into another catchy chorus. That drops into light instrumentals and vocals, before flying into a big final smash of the chorus.

On the track, Georgia told us: “The reception to Dead To Me has been incredible. We had our first listen on BBC Radio 1 as Nels Hylton’s Future Flavour. The video we released on Dreambound has received lots of positive comments and far more views than we ever expected. It’s just cool to see so many people backing the project and we are full of love. For anyone who hasn’t heard the song yet, you should expect a very catchy chorus, and a positive outlook on previous ended relationships.” Check it out in the video here:

That’s since been followed by their new single Life Sentence, which was released at the start of this month. It opens up with Georgia’s engaging chorus vocals “I’ve got a life sentence for my sins, Locked up I’m feeling things, Time that it takes me away, So when I break through, I’ll make sure to reach you, It’s in my blood.” The instrumentals drop out bar a light bass and drums, leaving Georgia’s vocals carrying the verse towards another catchy chorus. Chunky guitars join in alongside a little high-pitched lick to setup another chorus and a heavy outro. Check it out in the lyric video here:

These two singles come from the band’s upcoming EP Subside, which will be released on 26 October. That EP promises to be a “natural progression” from their debut EP Peace Of Mind, which was released last year, with a wealth of singalong choruses and catchy grooves. On the EP, Georgia says: “Subside is a deep dive into my mind in the aftermath of a failed relationship. We wanted to establish a narrative both lyrically and musically to explore the immediate mental impact a break up can have on you. We tried to keep a positive light on all the songs, as we go through hardships during life but things are always bound to get better.”

Until then, we recommend digging your teeth into debut EP. It offers more catchy pop-rock goodness like the lively Worth It and the final track The Latter, which opens up with a funky stabbing guitar riff that continues alongside Georgia’s engaging vocals. Check it out in the video here:

High Regard hail from a hotbed of rock talent with Hertfordshire producing the likes of Enter Shikari, Trash Boat and As Everything Unfolds that have been a big influence on the trio. You can also check out their individual playlists on the band’s Spotify page – in which Matt includes another of our former Hertfordshire NBOTWs Sinka and Tom includes another former NBOTW in York band Foxhaunt.

And Georgia told us: “We’ve been lucky enough to work with Ryan from Trash Boat on all our releases, and Jon from As Everything Unfolds on these new songs we have coming out. It’s pretty cool having a vocalist like Charlie from As Everything Unfolds on Dead To Me as she’s definitely been someone I have looked up to since we met her years ago. The band is named after a The Story So Far song, so there is a clear influence there for us too.”

And on what inspires them to write music, Georgia adds: “A big part of what influences me to write music is mental health. I think self-expression is important, I love putting my thoughts, whether positive or negative, down on paper and turning it into a song.”

High Regard will have more new music on the way shortly. The trio are finishing the year off with a run of shows across the UK, starting with Castlefest at The Castle in Luton on Friday (29 September) then gigs alongside Crystalline at The Subside in Birmingham on 19 October, Le Pub in Newport on 20 October and The Frog & Fiddle in Cheltenham on 22 October. They’re then playing a run of shows with Ten Years Too Late in November and December, ahead of a hometown Christmas show. More info on all their gigs is here.

And Georgia adds: “Basically, if you’re a fan of rock music, you’re likely to enjoy ours.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves!

You can follow High Regard on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.