Ne-Hi

It was to help out a friend in need of a film score that the Chicago indie rock outfit NE-HI first assembled. Guitarist/vocalists Jason Balla and Mikey Wells, bassist James Weir, and drummer Alex Otake put together a handful of songs, yet when the project fell through they opted to keep going as a band. Anchored at Animal Kingdom, the D.I.Y. basement venue on the Northwest Side, the quartet carried their scrappy approach—recalling Wire signed to Flying Nun or Rain Parade issuing singles on Postcard—onto local stages, steadily cultivating a devoted audience through high-energy shows and memorable tunes. Their self-titled debut was captured swiftly by Dave Vettraino at Public House Recordings across fall and winter 2013, relying heavily on first takes to preserve a raw, in-the-room feel; Manic Static issued the set in March 2014, drawing widespread critical praise. The group kept gigging, including runs alongside Twin Peaks and Car Seat Headrest, while turning attention to a follow-up. Songwriting proved tougher on this round, with Balla and Wells wrestling over material, and an initial studio pass yielded largely discarded recordings. After further road time and revisions, they reentered the studio with fresh assurance, tracking everything except vocals live in a rapid burst that finally delivered the desired outcome. Grand Jury released the resulting album, Offers, in February 2017.