B-Side Guys

Rising from the Mae Shi’s experimental ashes, HLLLYH opens their concept album about entrapment with the most contradictory approach possible—making cyclical suffering sound like celebration. “Uru Buru” operates as both thesis statement and escape hatch, suggesting that sometimes the only way out of vicious patterns is to dance your way through them.

Tim Byron’s mission to resurrect his former band transformed into something more ambitious when the reunion felt less like ending and more like beginning. HLLLYH inherits the Mae Shi’s palette of “spastic drums, homemade guitars, call-and-response chants” while applying it to more structured songwriting. The result maintains the original band’s frantic joy while serving more focused purposes.

The track’s “bright-hued sing-along fist-pumper” approach creates fascinating tension with its subject matter. Rather than wallowing in cyclical suffering, HLLLYH treats repetitive behavior as raw material for anthemic release. Their decision to open the album with one of its newest songs (written in 2023) rather than older material suggests confidence in their evolved perspective.

The expansion from recording project to live band reflects understanding that some music requires communal experience to achieve full impact. New members Dan Chao, James Baker, and Burt Hashiguchi help translate the Mae Shi’s experimental legacy into performance-ready format without losing its essential weirdness.

“Uru Buru” succeeds because HLLLYH understands that acknowledging entrapment doesn’t require surrendering to it. Their approach to vicious cycles feels more like tactical analysis than emotional resignation—examining patterns to find weak points rather than accepting permanent imprisonment. The result transforms self-awareness into potential energy.