The Pryde

“Hubrys,” local band The Pryde’s first full-length album, was released this past January. Formed in 2007, The Pryde consists of four former BHS students and an outside saxophonist. Kuba Kierlanczyk, George Hider, David Blanco, Justin Romeo, and John Aurelio recorded the tracks on “Hubrys,” with guests Brendan Rivera and Jim Keyes.

The album is perhaps best characterized as a 90s alternative rock throwback with a modern twist and cleaner drums, guitar, and sax. Although most of the album is pleasantly reminiscent of the greatest period in alternative rock history, the tracks on “Hubrys” vary from one another significantly. Whereas “Silver Lining” is a softer, nostalgic track that would do even Eddie Vedder proud, angrier songs on the album feature much more complex guitar and bolder drums, courtesy of Romeo, Kierlanczyk, Blanco, and Hider. John Aurelio’s sax adds a rhythmic twist necessary for several numbers. “Sammy’s Night Out,” featuring Jim Keyes, even contains echoes of Flogging Molly. Although eclectic in nature, the track listing brings the songs together in a pleasantly cohesive manner.

Five songs on the album are re-releases of an earlier short mix, “Super Happy Awesome Magic Funtime Go-Go Music Special Record CD.” While the original name is unbeatable, the recording job on “Hubrys” is far superior. New releases on “Hubrys” demonstrate considerable maturation in the band’s capabilities, most noticeably in “Modus Operandi.” Kierlanczyk, the band’s lead guitarist and frontman, said he feels the most recent tracks are “a lot punchier and mature, as I think it took us some time to finally find our niche and reflect our changing musical interests and skills.”

Battling for angriest song on the album with “While I Burn,” “Modus Operandi” is the riskiest; the vocals are passionate and bold paired with battling guitar riffs from Kierlanczyk, Hider, and Blanco. The harsher sound pays off, making “Modus Operandi” the most mature, musically complex song on “Hubrys.”

Unlike many high school bands, The Pryde understands the value of stanzas without vocals. Although Kierlanczyk’s vocals are invaluable to the album as a whole, supplying storylines and aggression, instrumental aspects of each song stand on their own. “Sammy’s Night Out” neglects vocals entirely, and remains one of the most memorable tracks on “Hubrys.” Toward the end of “While I Burn,” the absence of vocals allows the band to showcase drums and guitar. Here, Romeo keeps the song rhythmically aggressive while the guitars follow his cue.

Lyrically, “Hubrys” is refreshing. And although its members are barely out of high school, the band successfully incorporates mature riffs and beats while maintaining the rhythmic simplicity that makes the tracks appealing. The cohesive nature of the parts is particularly impressive given that each band mate wrote his own respective part for each song.

“We recorded a lot of songs really fast and especially for me,” said drummer Justin Romeo. “I had to come up with a lot of my beats while I was recording them.”

The lack of specific direction in creating a single album served them well, giving spontaneity to the tracks difficult to achieve synthetically.

“It’s by no means a concept album and any implication of such is entirely subject to the listener’s interpretation,” Kierlanczyk said. However, the first time guitarist George Hider heard the album, he said that he saw the album telling a story, though it was not recorded with that intention.

But all members of The Pryde agree they are very pleased with the way “Hubrys” turned out.

“We put a lot of hard work and time into it, and seeing what it ended up being made it all worth it,” Hider said.

“The album gives us something to be proud of and remember when we are older,” Romeo said.

Kierlanczyk said his favorite part of the finished product is the way “it chronicles our evolution as individual musicians and as a band.” Similarly, Romeo noted the band’s ability to “grow musically” through this album. Given the maturation of sound from their original five tracks to trickier songs such as “Skapaniola” and “No Escape,” this is a fair assessment. - BHS Echo