When I wrote about Josie’s demo last year, I called it “super sweet and catchy” and marveled at their “One, Two, Twee!” motto. Then came Still Time, which proved they weren’t just charming—this band had real songwriting chops. Now, with their debut LP A Life on Sweets Alone, Josie delivers on all that early promise and more.
The reference points are familiar—The Primitives, Talulah Gosh, Shop Assistants—the same ones The Cords nod to on their own spectacular debut. But where The Cords turn those influences into something crystalline and urgent, Josie come at them from the other side: scrappier, looser, almost like a punked-up garage take on a ’60s girl group. And it works beautifully.
The album includes all four songs from last year’s demo, which retain their raw charm but sound fresher and more alive here. Early singles Cupid Strikes a Blow, Sweetie Pie, and My Boy and I (each blessed with a video treatment) are undeniable highlights, yet it’s Good Girl—one of those demo holdovers—that might just be my favorite of them all.
Released on K Records and Perennial, A Life on Sweets Alone feels both timeless and now—a scrappy, playful debut that belongs right alongside your treasured indie pop classics.