NE-HI Announce Breakup, Release Final EP XYZ

Chicago’s NE-HI have announced that they have broken up, and have released a three-track EP titled XYZ as a farewell.

The DIY/underground band shared their gratitude to friends, fans, their hometown of Chicago, music industry collaborators and “every person that let four smelly dudes crash on their couch,” among others, in a statement on Instagram and Facebook.

Jason Balla, Mikey Wells, James Weir and Alex Otake formed NE-HI in 2013, and went on to release two full-length albums, their 2014 self-titled and 2017’s Offers.

Read the quartet’s full statement below, beneath video from their 2017 Daytrotter Session, and stream the band’s final effort XYZ here.

Hey Everyone, today we released a 3 song EP called “XYZ”, which is now streaming everywhere. This will also be the last piece of music from NE-HI, as we’re calling it a day on this project. *** First and foremost, we just want to say THANK YOU to everyone for the incredible support we’ve gotten from day one. From starting in the basement of Animal Kingdom to Pitchfork and beyond this whole journey has been better than we ever could have imagined. THANK YOU to every person that let four smelly dudes crash on their couch, every band that we’ve ever toured with, every venue we’ve played, every auto mechanic that laughed when we pulled our turquoise van in their garage, every person in the music industry we’ve worked with especially David Viecelli, Alex Kadvan, Marisa Brown, Shannin Porter, Grand Jury, etc. The entire CHICAGO MUSIC SCENE, The Empty Bottle and the endless love and support that this incredible city has not only offered to us but to all young people trying to live out their dreams. Everyone that spent anytime listening to our music. All of our friends and family that have spent so much time over the past 5-6 years supporting this ride. Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives! We love you all. ** Big S/O to everyone who helped us work on this EP that we really hope you all enjoy. The incredible Joshua Wells for producing “Exit Stations”. Bill Skibbe, Brian Fox, & the whole family at Key Club for “Highways”. Doug Malone at Jamdek. Sima & Liam Cunningham at Foxhall. & of course our longtime engineer who has had such a vital role in shaping our sound, Dave Vettraino, who produced “Money”. Artwork by the inimitable Bill Connors. *** We still have shirts and records on the very cheap at our website (nehiband.com/store) if you want anything ** On to the next chapter in life and music. Love y’all so much!