{"id":43819,"date":"2025-08-21T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=43819"},"modified":"2025-08-10T07:53:48","modified_gmt":"2025-08-10T11:53:48","slug":"hot-joy-lean-in-with-scuzzy-charm-on-new-single-leaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=43819","title":{"rendered":"Hot Joy lean in with scuzzy charm on new single \u2018Leaning\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

St. Louis indie rockers\u00a0Hot Joy\u00a0are back and wasting zero time. Just a few months after dropping their excellent debut EP\u00a0\u2018Small Favor,\u2019 they\u2019ve returned with a double-shot digital 45:\u00a0Quality Control<\/em>\u00a0b\/w\u00a0Leaning<\/em><\/a>, out now via Tiny Engines. If\u00a0\u2018Small Favor\u2019 was their coming-out party, this new release feels like the afterparty \u2014 a little more raw, a little more self-assured, and maybe even a little bit weirder (in the best way).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaning<\/em><\/strong> \u2014 the second single from the pair \u2014 is streaming everywhere now, and it captures the band at their most emotionally transparent. Bassist\/vocalist Nicole Bonura sings of comforts that no longer comfort, gummy worms that taste like gasoline. But even when things feel bleak, Hot Joy keeps things buoyant. The track blends melancholy with momentum, buoyed by the band\u2019s signature trick: intertwining vocals from Bonura and guitarist Austin McCutchen that somehow make every experience feel collective. It\u2019s fuzz-pop therapy in under four minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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