Prince Daddy & the Hyena - Hotwire Trip Switch

Since forming out of Albany’s DIY scene, Prince Daddy & The Hyena have built a career out of reaching their breaking point. Their first LP, also produced by Joe Reinhardt, captured a young band figuring things out in real time; their massive conceptual undertaking Cosmic Thrill Seekers pushed their ambition (and patience) to new extremes. Not long after, a serious van accident nearly took their lives, inspiring their 2022 self-titled LP. Over the last decade, they’ve lost friends and collaborators, and faced moments that would have ended most bands.

But those experiences never slowed Prince Daddy down.

On Hotwire Trip Switch, they recalibrate and reconnect with their roots while sounding more focused than ever. It pulls from the punchy lineage of Green Day, the hook-driven quirk of Weezer, the snarky urgency of Joyce Manor and Jeff Rosenstock – all through the distinctly bratty lens of songwriter and vocalist Kory Gregory. He’s backed by an airtight band including guitarist Cameron Handford, drummer and vocalist Daniel Gorham, and bassist Jordan Chmielowski.

The album’s title comes from a lyric on the track “Crash Taylor,” and captures the chaotic, unstable, and sometimes unsafe energy that Prince Daddy & The Hyena thrive in. It’s a fitting name for an album about surviving on borrowed time and borrowed electricity, pretending like somehow, that’s a sustainable approach to life.

Despite being known for crafting full-length experiences and hiding easter eggs between tracks, Hotwire Trip Switch was written as Prince Daddy’s first-ever “singles” record. Kory purposefully went into the writing process with a mission to actualize entire visions of individual songs, rather than relying on the context to click only during a full listen. Without the added pressure to connect the dots, the result is the band’s catchiest record yet.