Writing lyrics with another person can be really vulnerable, says Tyler Ryan. But both collaboration and vulnerability have been key to Oh Dang, the New Orleans band anchored by Ryan, a singer and guitarist, vocalist Harper Browman and multi-instrumentalist Eric Anduha.
“It takes a long time to slowly develop that sort of comfort, to be able to share and change and put ideas out that either work or don’t work with somebody else,” Ryan says. “Same with Eric. Eric, I’ve been playing with since I was a kid. That sort of comfort has grown over like 15 years of playing together.”
Since 2021, Oh Dang has operated as a trio, releasing a lo-fi folk EP and a full-length of engaging alt-country highlighted by Ryan and Browman’s harmonies. Now, with their second full-length “Big Dogs,” the band is growing both in size and in its sound.
“Big Dogs” is out Friday, March 13, on Strange Daisy Records, and the band plays a release show at 9 p.m. that night at BJ’s in the Bywater. Tonya & The Glue also perform.
Following the release of Oh Dang’s self-titled album in 2024, Browman, Ryan and Anduha invited drummer Eric Martinez and bassist Dylan Grove to join the band. Martinez is in a number of projects around New Orleans, including the country-leaning indie rock band Night Medicine, and Grove plays with the alt-rock band Dumbster.
“When those two came in, it just completely changed the dynamic of writing and playing,” Ryan says.
“We’d bring a song to the band at practice, and then everybody puts in how they think things could be different or what should be added,” Browman adds. “It’s pretty open when we’re starting a new song.”
On “Big Dogs,” the effect can be quickly heard as the album opens with feedback and the propulsive rocker “OKC.” Oh Dang has rolled heaps of garage rock into its style. They haven’t necessarily cut out the alt-country past, and those influences can still be heard, but Oh Dang has hit on a fuller sound. Still, it’s anchored by Ryan and Browman’s vocal harmonies and collaboration.
Originally from California and Colorado, Ryan moved to New Orleans about eight years ago to get clean. Browman also is from California and spent time in Hawaii and Idaho before moving to the city around seven years ago. And Ryan’s childhood friend Anduha moved to New Orleans around the same time.
Although Ryan began playing drums with the local crust punk band Horsebiter, he had stopped writing his own music for a while. When the pandemic shutdowns began, though, he started writing for himself, and after catching a show by Browman (who also plays in the punk band ABSOLÜ NON) at Banks Street Bar, he asked if they’d want to sing on a few of his songs. Along with Anduha on slide guitar, violin and piano, they recorded the 2021 EP “*cycles.”
The trio continued to write together and began playing shows ahead of their 2024 full-length, and a country style developed out of the circumstances. But with backgrounds in metal, punk and rock, it was almost inevitable those influences would bubble up with the right pieces — like a drummer and bassist.
Oh Dang recorded “Big Dogs” with Nick Pope, and the band is already working on a follow-up.
Amid the expanded sound, there’s a lot of vulnerability on the album, with songs influenced by heartache and loss, witnessing a deadly car crash, self-harm, addiction and recovery.
“My favorite thing about music in general is feeling like I can relate to what somebody’s singing about and feeling seen in a way that’s not superficial as much,” Browman says. “I want people to feel that way about music that I’m making, that it’s a shared experience, something that’s a little deeper than all the bullshit around.”
Cover for the March 13 show at BJ’s is $10. Find Oh Dang on Instagram: @ohdangtheband.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source bestofneworleans.com ’
