RePlay: Lonely Lyricism and Earworm Emo Tunes in Prince Daddy & the Hyena’s Debut Album

Rating: 8

Ten years ago, an eccentrically-named band broke into the emo scene with an album of anthems for the lonely. With punk band Prince Daddy & the Hyena’s debut album, the record establishes fear of abandonment before the first song even starts with its title, “I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving.”

“I would describe it as fun, dumb, stoner-y punk power pop,” frontman Kory Gregory said in a 2015 interview with Table Three Media. “For fans of: hating yourself, drugs, Weezer, sci-fi movies, and the best of vibes. And jumping. People who like us tend to like jumping. I like jumping.” 

Featuring three of the album’s biggest themes — loneliness, media references and drugs — opener and title track  “I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving” kicks off the album in killer fashion. The song builds with self loathing lyrics and a relatively tame instrumental for about forty seconds before diving into an energetic power pop instrumental.

It takes two lines into the album to mention “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret Of The Ooze.” It takes four lines before marijuana is referenced.

While their later albums include a growing amount of poetic themes, the lyrics of their debut album are closer to emo-adapted journal entries. Many of Gregory’s struggles in said entries are uniquely middle-class problems, such as his gripes with media piracy.

“So when I decide to go illegally download my movies / I shouldn’t have to take a breather / I shouldn’t have to get so mad if the video and audio don’t quite match,” Gregory sings exasperatedly.

While the title track is a great introduction to the band, second song “I Forgot to Take My Meds Today” requires more of an acquired taste. Best enjoyed by those who dine on Weezer instrumentals, Prince Daddy combines a bombastic power pop sound with their screamed lines, replacing consistent catchy hooks with drawn out lyrics that end in the letters “ay” for most of the song. 

At the end of the track, one can faintly hear Gregory say “Zackariah, that’s Lanky Kong walking on his hands,” referencing the rejected member of Donkey Kong’s crew.

“Clever Girl” is one of two unrelentingly angry tracks. It’s full of angst toward many of life’s problems as they occur to Gregory: douche bags, tough guys, an ex and said ex’s friends. 

On “Nika’s Got It Wrong,” Prince Daddy & the Hyena deviate from the emo standard of being mad at exes, parents or even the ephemeral “this town.” Instead, Gregory’s frustrated with the dangers of college party culture. 

“They have maniacal and devious plans / Involving freshmen girls too fucked up to dance,” Gregory sings.

“Bromeo // Always Good” sways into a Midwest emo direction. The core of the song is a long set of abandonment anxieties, echoing the loneliness throughout the album. Long instrumental breaks between verses try to serve as a tranquil moment to reflect on the previous lyrics, but this success is undermined by Bromeo’s erratic lyrics.

“I like when you and your squad come by / I really fucking hate goodbyes,” Gregory sings.

“Pop Song” is another pristine tune about the intersection between a mellow high and Gregory’s inevitable anxieties about trivial plights, like leaving a couch to plug his phone in. Each minor complaint on the side effects of his inebriation is followed by a repeated four line chorus.

The ending of “Pop Song” demonstrates one of the defining features of Prince Daddy songs —nearly unintelligible lyrics. While it’s usual for one to catch a word or two, hearing a word that isn’t being sung at all is common too.

Although it can be confusing for a song’s lyrics to be incomprehensible until they’re read, it contributes to a quirky, unique identity for the band.

“Broc Ched” is the second rage-filled track, the song’s lyrics eliciting empathy toward someone crashing out about their job.  The verses’ ferocity develop from issues like a lack of casual eroticism to a desire to assault a potentially homophobic coworker.

“This screen’s a bore / There’s no games and no porn / There’s just a lot of grilled cheese,” Gregory sings.

At its surface, the title of “I Wish I Could Ctrl+Alt+Delete My Life” adapts suicidal ideation into tech terms. On a deeper level, the song reflects a desire for a complete do-over, Gregory ditching his repetitive and mundane life filled with video games, fast-food, marijuana and laziness.

The end of the track sarcastically samples an episode of Family Feud where a smug contestant verbosely claims he will cure cancer.

After this dubious medical claim, “Hundo Pos” – short for “hundred percent” – immediately mocks any attempt to improve his life.

“I’m happy now (Ha-ha) / I’m working on myself (Ha-ha),” Gregory snidely sings.

Exploring the idea of self-loathing people envisioning a savior, “Hundo Pos” also calls to mind the downfalls of losing an important relationship.

The song manifests as a short, catchy tune about relationship anxieties, namely frustration with how he treats himself and maintains an attachment to someone half a year after the relationship ended.

“Bath Tub” is an unfortunately uncharacteristic dud. Given the album’s long intros and instrumental breaks scattered throughout, each song’s relatively small amount of lines have to make the most of their time. “Bath Tub” is an example of what happens when they don’t, merely continuing the previous song’s ideas with a worse melody. 

Each verse is drawn out, and each instrumental is anxiety-inducing rather than engaging. While songs like “Bromeo // Always Good” and “I Forgot to Take My Meds Today” share some of this song’s flaws, they make up for it in successful sonic elements that “Bath Tub” simply never comes close to.

The band saved the best for last in closer “Really?” Unlike previous songs, the vocals of “Really?” are heavily distorted, creating a seamless connection between long instrumentals and screams of loneliness. The song radiates a palpable sinking feeling like no other. 

As the album concludes with a Windows file-placement noise, its songs drag themselves into the heart and ears of the listener, too, by combining heartfelt, lonely lyrics with energetic, slightly chaotic instrumentals.

“I Thought You Didn’t Even Like Leaving” is available on all major streaming platforms.