Hot Joy

St. Louis-based band-to-watch Hot Joy–Austin McCutchen (guitar/vocals), Nicole Bonura (bass/vocals), Curt Oschner (guitar), and Wil McCarthy (drums)–today announced their debut EP Small Favor will be released on April 19th, 2024. An unrelenting dose of infectious, fist-raising choruses, muscular guitar theatrics, and ramshackle exuberance, the promising six track EP firmly establishes the band within the Midwest’s burgeoning indie-rock scene. Hot Joy also shared their debut single “Fingers On My Side,” the EP’s ebullient, playful opening track. “It’s a sweet and simple song, about the surprise of finding out how authentic some of the smallest moments in life are, and a reminder that sometimes it’s a string of those smaller moments that make life seem so big,” explains McCutchen. 

The track is accompanied by a charming video directed by the band’s own McCarthy. “This is the world’s first exposure to Hot Joy, so it was important to establish a visual identity for the band” he explains. "We used an old Panasonic camcorder to shoot the video, and I threw in a few quick animations to add some flavor. A local grocery store (shoutout Local Harvest) was kind enough to let us come in and shoot the video one night after closing.”

On Small Favor, Hot Joy centers emotional immediacy and uncomplicated fun. Composed of four longtime friends and members of St. Louis’ DIY scene, the band’s welcoming bond shines through thick walls of guitars and infectious melodies. The quartet make music that’s cathartic and validating, for moments that overwhelm to the point of bursting. 

Hot Joy started with an existential crisis. McCutchen, who has fronted local punk mainstays Choir Vandals for over a decade (and serves as a go-to fill-in guitarist for Foxing and Squint), had slowly grown disillusioned with writing songs by himself. Though he’d spent most of his life creating in solitude, he realized he needed to scrap that formula to rediscover what he loved about making music in the first place. So he called up childhood pal Oschner to play guitar, and after a couple of freewheeling jam sessions, the two had nearly 15 songs started. McCutchen then enlisted McCarthy to play drums and Bonura (who has a solo project under the name Nicole Grace) to sing and play bass, before recording with producer Gabe Usery in St. Louis. 

The driving force behind the group’s early writing sessions was an organic impulse to just have fun with it. “For me, this record is about play,” says Bonura. “My own music is super tender and soft but this allowed me to flex being a little bit of a brat. I experimented with my voice going super nasally like a cross between Kim Deal-vibes and Linda Belcher. I got to be a little sassy.”

While they sing about daily anxieties, interpersonal relationships, and tour-induced aimlessness with grace and wit, Small Favor is first and foremost a document of the euphoria that comes from making music with your closest buds. “The weekly act of just practicing, hanging out, and writing together re-instilled the fun of making music,” says McCutchen. “Hot Joy is just a great time playing with people I love.”