Honeypuppy

Playful, clever, and a little bit twisted, Athens Georgia’s Honeypuppy invokes an off-kiltered nursery rhyme on their debut EP Nymphet out January 24th on Indecent Artistry. Born from the mind of Josie Callahan, an ex-preschool teacher turned songwriter, Nymphet is an ode to the ugliness of girlhood bandaged with bits of distortion and raw pop. The glassy-eyed 5 song EP reads like the diary of a Lisbon girl, tackling subjects ranging from crushes and imaginary scenarios, to second guessing yourself and the McDonald triad. Nymphet also pays homage to its Athens roots featuring a pair of vocals-recorded-in-the-bathtub bonus track demos, highlighting the homegrown and sincere creation process of this tipsy musical collaboration between friends. The resulting EP is a hypnotic endeavor, featuring catchy hooks, chaotic breaks, and a little something sweet for everyone.

“Nymphet”, the EP’s title track, is an ethereal jaunt interrupted by a punch in the gut; a sweet and compelling experience. With dreamy slide guitar, layered vocals, and the occasional hum of a stylophone, this sonic collage resembles a sudden change of heart and yearns for adoration. This is in stark contrast to the EP’s closing track “Kerosine”, a fast and intense song about serial killers and their adolescent idiosyncrasies. Even though the song’s subject might be depraved, there is still an undertone of humor, with the last line being “Friends are more fun when they’re dead”. “Suck Up”, a fast and bouncy song about trying to make someone like you, is playful but earnest. Lyrics like “I love to play pretend with you…I love to pretend you do too” and “Why won’t you play with me… No I don’t wanna know. Don’t tell me, please” convey the familiar feeling of having a stubborn crush and not knowing, or not wanting to know, if those feelings are reciprocated.

Honeypuppy formed in 2020 as Josie Callahan rushed to turn in the aforementioned demos for a school project. This four-piece menace to society consists of Callahan (guitar, lead vocals) alongside friends and dutiful Athens, Georgia musicians Adam Wayton (bass), Will Wise (lead guitar), and Jack Colclough (percussion), with the core of the group also playing in a dozen other bands including Telemarket, The Pink Stones, Coma Therapy, Snuki, and Garden Club among others. The group takes a soft and brutal approach to Callahan’s deceptively simple songwriting style, creating something wholly unique yet poppy and approachable.