“2000s pop rock nostalgia is at the core of the infectious track, which recalls classics like Fountain of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom” and Relient K’s “Sadie Hawkins Dance,” Billboard on “Speed Dial”
“...a satisfying mix of the alternative rock, pop-punk and new wave influences the band has dabbled in since their inception,”- Buzzbands LA
Today, Los Angeles based pop-rock band HUNNY release their new EP ‘Homesick’ via Epitaph Records and produced by Carlos De La Garza (Paramore, The Linda Lindas.) As a follow up to their 2019 debut album, YES. YES. YES. YES, the EP’s 4 tracks span across the indie/pop-punk spectrum with tinges of late 90’s alternative rock. Its lyrical themes of longing and laments on social status are also quite satirical, highlighting the band’s penchant for paring moody lyrics with bright and sunny melodies.
The band also shares the suitably over dramatized music video for title track, “Homesick” the third and final in a trilogy of tongue-in-cheek videos to accompany the EP. The members play washed up models frolicking on a beach in classic boyband montages, setting the tone with Abercrombie-esque shopping bags and frontman Jason Yarger in a pair of UGG boots. The first two videos were self-shot and directed, so bringing on director Mason Mercer (Citizen, Joyce Manor) and a whole team was a treat for the guys. Enamored by the final product, Yarger states, “We loved Mason’s concept so we just let him rip. He’s a true freak and he killed it.”
WATCH THE “HOMESICK” MUSIC VIDEO HERE
Over the course of the pandemic, the four members of HUNNY collectively made nearly 100 demos that turned into the cohesive compilation of Homesick. The title track came to be as guitarist Jake Goldstein was literally at home sick when he wrote the original demo during quarantine. With the word itself being polysemantic, the band finds that the song can take on a few different meanings. Jason Yarger recalls,
“It started as this cheeky little tune but when we started fleshing it out as a real track it started to morph into a bit more.” He explains, “It turned partly into some sort of love letter to touring and how much we’d missed it after nearly two years of not being on the road.” That sentiment is wrapped in a lot of insecurities they were feeling about the future of the band – and in turn their lives – due to the pandemic. The frontman continues, “I personally felt like I was going backwards – not touring and working a day job. I wanted my life back. I was homesick.”
The EP throws you into the unique offbeat nostalgia of Y2k from the music to its visual references. Led by single “Speed Dial” whose music video was self-shot by the band, it evokes the feeling of watching a home movie through pixelated VHS tape. “Loser,” with its awkward-yet-endearing moments, captures an overdressed Jason Yarger at a beach boardwalk alongside clips of roller blading footage.
The band sought out to explore new sounds after briefly straying from their punk beginnings in favor of 80’s new wave and 90’s pop influences on their 2021 album. “We’re trying to get to the root of the music we want to make at this point,” they said. With a fresh direction, the new EP finds them attempting to reconcile those differences with swirling guitar riffs, catchy pop melodies and sugary sweet synths. ‘Homesick’ propels HUNNY one step closer to their newfound sound.
HUNNY is lead singer/guitarist Jason Yarger, guitarist Jake Goldstein, drummer Joey Anderson, and on bass/keyboards Kevin Grimmet.
HOMESICK Track List:
1. Homesick
2. Loser
3. New Recording 122 August 19, 2020
4. Speed Dial
