Tayana Osuna, Arts & Culture Editor 

Breaking news! Hot Dogz With Brains have broken up!!! Their lead singer Dan Osuna, though you may know him by his stage name DanZuna, had a thing or two to say about the break up. In fact, he wrote and composed a whole album in response to the HDWB drama. 

The album consists of eight songs. Critics may be wary of the stylistic choices given that the album ranges from sappy indie to petty metal. We start with a spiritual, granted controversial song titled “AHHH.” Throughout the piece we hear constant screaming and crying from both Dan and what seems to be a screeching possum. Fans believe this to symbolize Dan’s initial reaction to the break up. Next we take quite a drastic turn with “hum-a-hum-a.” This song seems to produce a tranquil environment that a known fan, Danny Devito, pointed out appears to “reflect the prehistoric serenity Dan’s ancestors lived by” given that Dan is indeed a dinosaur.

Songs three through six are either tributes or diss tracks to ex-band members of Dan. Track three, “Phantom of the Folly” is theorized by fans to be about Elvis, Dan’s ex-drummer, who was indeed a ghost. Dan sings about “a fool that wanted flesh.” It is known amongst the HDWB community that Elvis seemed to disappear from the spotlight. This song helps shed light on Elvis’ desire to be alive. He even attempted taping flesh to himself to “level his spirit within the skin.” Elvis was placed in the Psychiatric Ward of Spirits and inevitably pulled away from the music scene. Dan’s next piece, “precious pep” was clearly created as a remembrance of Pepino, ex-bass player, who lost himself within the circus. Dan sings that Pepino was last seen at “the boxcar of flames,” implying that he became a fire breather for the circus. A known dream of his. 

Dan is not one to be cryptic, and it is clear in his song titled “chaos comes in many forms, and for me it was a rabbit.” Joobster, aka Joob, Dan’s ex-guitarist was “a basket of burnt beans.” When the band was together, fans reported Joob’s destructive behavior on several occasions.When touring in America, ex-fan Percy Bartelt shared that he “really enjoyed HDWB’s music, but Joobster damaged [his] view of them when they climbed the balcony of the venue and jumped off, breaking both their own arms and [Percy’s] hip.” The album continues by addressing the conflict deriving from ex-back up vocalist Violeta. The title “violence is the only answer” speaks for itself. This song is truly a testament to what Dan can do. He stated that he felt like “the band was holding [him] back. They prevented [Dan] from releasing a lot of pent up anger due to generational trauma.” 

The last two songs of the album are what stand out to me the most. “What’s in my pocket” takes us on a journey of mystery and secrecy, a common theme found throughout HDWB’s past albums. Finally, Dan hints at a future musical duo, “danny and manny.” Fans speculate this unknown artist is either Handy Manny, a childhood favorite, or Manny from the well known Ice Age movies. 

Listen to the new album on Spotify or through the shells you find on the beach.