Prince Daddy and The Hyena
Cosmic Thrill Seekers

Release Date: 2019 | Tracklist

When constantly attempting to find new music over time you begin to learn slowly how a genres scene can intensely dilute their music. After the endless twinkle wankery and same tele capo combo things begin to feel so stale with writing a million songs about an ex you "still cant seem to stop calling up” but in the mix with all of this we seem to find p daddy. After an explosive debut with a more than stellar take on the entire emo/punk combo, with some of the simplest but fresher songwriting in the past few years audiences could be incredibly weary of what was to come next. With so many bands signing onto new labels, changing up their sounds for sometimes better and sometimes the worst we have prince daddy in the entire crossfire. As one of the most beloved bands in the emo scene for the past few years it would be increasingly difficult to top their debut but in this case, they somehow managed to overwhelmingly succeed their first effort as a band.

Throughout cosmic thrill seekers we have a constant change of lyrically themes, pounding drums, infectiously catchy bass lines, and some of the best guitar work in the entire punk/emo scene as of late. Throughout each song we have revisiting lyrical themes which all manage to stay fresh due to the constant thematic switch ups and separation of the album in acts. One of Kory's lyrical peaks as i'd like to say comes in the first act with "i lost my life" perfectly encapsulating the albums desires from the listener. We have a soft acoustic ballad with raw and intensely powerful but nonetheless slapsticky lyrics which eventually ensues into a chaotic explosion of sound with a screeching solo and a somewhat bittersweet ending to the first track. Another high point in the album is "cosmic thrill seeking forever" which closes off the first act of the record, giving us a composed sing along with a simple little glockenspiel section in the background, constantly switching on and off from a heavy hitting rhythm section back to this composure. Lyrically the song gives us a swelling story about falling in love on the outside of it but also ends up giving us a decent bit of references to the wizard of oz.

The album from the outside reads off as a punk album but the band, from what i know, had full intentions on this being a concept album based on the wizard of oz. Sadly, not knowing much about the films history, story, or lore this gets lost in translation for me. I could definitely see clear references but i could undoubtedly understand how this could be confusing in a way to listeners since it doesn't seem like a clearly focused concept album. This is the only real major issue i see exhibited throughout the record, besides that issue some songs feel a little bit too short and sort of blue ball some in a way. Some songs that come to mind that could've either served a better purpose or been stretched out in length are definitely "***in A'" and "dream nails" which both are incredibly promising but i feel as if they personally get cut off at their highest moments. "dream nails" ends up leading into "c'mon and smoke me up" which is one of the most exciting and heart pumping moments on the entire records, which helps connect the themes between Kory and the wizard of oz incredibly well. Even though cosmic thrill seekers isn't the best concept album the theme of wizard of oz helps strengthen Kory Gregory's lyricism, in "c'mon and smoke me up" we see clear references to Wizard of oz but a lyrical cry out, a fear of being forgotten which is constantly shown throughout the record.

Going back to songs like "i lost my life" and "dialogue" offers so much more after a full album listen, we see Kory's fears all shown in the most raw form but not raw enough to push the audience aside and make them uncomfortable. We see someone vulnerable, honest, but who makes parallels and understands what a listener wants out of the record. Besides this though the rhythm writing offers a lot of what audiences have heard but in it's absolute best form. Each guitar, bass line, and drum beat knows exactly when to overwhelm listeners, offering quick, loud, and fun to listen to rhythm throughout, never trying to complicate itself or act as if it's better than whats given. Cosmic Thrill Seekers has cemented itself so far as one of the best albums of 2019 and an unbelievable breath of fresh air for the DIY punk/emo scene. This album has offered some of the funnest, saddest, and most emotionally raw songs of the year, managing to never lose the listener or side track them at all. Prince daddy offer one of the best takes on the genre yet and manages to make an incredibly fresh record, truly this band has so much to offer and only seeing that this is their sophomore debut they'll definitely cement their names in the next few years.

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3.7 great