We recently had the amazing opportunity to checkout the glorious sophomore album, “Hey Yeah Hey”, from Boston based cosmic canyon rock band and Americana collective, Other Brother Darryl. You can listen to “Hey Yeah Hey” on Spotify Here and on Apple Music Here

“Hey Yeah Hey” , from Other Brother Darryl, is a stunning collection of songs , that represent a high quality of songwriting and musicianship , an absolute jewel of a record.

The splendid The 11-track record arrives a few weeks before the octet celebrates with an album release party at The Burren in Somerville on Friday, July 10. 

The follow-up to last year’s acclaimed debut Roll Shine Roll, which surfaced not long after Other Brother Darryl were named the 2024 Boston Music Awards’ Country Artist of the Year, Hey Yeah Hey is led by a trio of emotive singles, proving why the band earned BMA nominations last year for Americana Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year (“Watch The Trees”).

 “Peaceful Alibi” set a tone with its expansive comfort; the yearning “Take It With You,” conveying the band’s message of confident empowerment, was selected by WBUR, Boston’s NPR, as one of the best Boston singles of April just before they played The Town and The City Festival; and our personal favorite “Too Right,” an upbeat meditation on a noisy world, came just ahead of the band’s appearance at the New England Americana Festival at Bellforge Arts Center. 

“This album really shows how we create as an entire band,” says guitarist and co-vocalist Nate Leavitt. “The last album was created while putting this band together. This time, the band was already in place and everyone had a defined role musically. It was almost like having a house band or studio full of session musicians, ready to take on a song idea. Creatively, it really made for a more cohesive sound compared to the last album. Plus, knowing our roles as players, along with what works musically for Other Brother Darryl, it’s a more defined sound and reflects more clearly on what we want our band to sound like.” 

Co-vocalist, lyricist, harmonica player, and percussionist Dan Nicklin agrees, adding: “I am happy it showcases the sound we are trying to build and the bond we share. Everyone in the band is genuinely excited for this body of music and the early response has been overwhelmingly responsive. It’s music that resonates from a time when change was knocking on the door of culture, which is sadly and ironically where we find ourselves again.” 

In Other Brother Darryl, Leavitt and Nicklin are rounded out by an impressive cast of notables in the New England music scene: Dan Cederholm (drums, banjo, vocals, and the band’s graphic designer); Derek Feeney (acoustic guitar, vocals); Chad Raleigh (electric guitars, lap steel, mandolin, vocals); Jim Collins (bass, vocals); Dave Lieb (acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, vocals); Matt Odabashian (Hammond Organ, Moog Synthesizer); and the late Dave Mirabella, the beloved Other Brother Darryl co-founder who provides “spiritual guidance” from the other side after unexpectedly passing away in 2022. And true to the band’s collaborative ethos, Hey Yeah Hey also features contributions from Chad’s son Nash Raleigh on bongos and local studio wiz Terrance Reeves on vibraphone. 

The songs on Hey Yeah Hey were all written by Other Brother Darryl, with lyricist Nicklin producing the album, recorded and mixed at his Henley Row Studios in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Additional recording was done by Reeves at Q Division Studios in Cambridge, with mastering by Brian Charles at nearby Rare Signals. 

We need to embrace wonder and joy wherever we can find it…. It can definitely be found with Other Brother Darryl and their remarkable new album, “Hey Yeah Hey”