by Charlie Bailey (@hectic_skeptic)
Led by singer-songwriter Josephine Luhman, Chicago band Josephine pluck out rich folk pop melodies suffused with a quiet but insistent spirit. Coming to Chicago via Minnesota, Josephine’s self-taught DIY ethos began in the empty church where her mother preached; a space to learn piano and sing with loud confidence. A swing away from her first bedroom-pop focused project, Joz, Josephine reveals itself as an authentic full band experience, one that complements and expands upon the honesty and explorative inquisition that her intimate lyrics delve into.
Back with their first single of 2025, “Does It Pay” is written out of a place of sympathy, the rejection of corporate culture, all the while driving home dreamy empathy and a suppressed anger that only begins to bare its teeth. Dual-dancing guitar melodies build and brood, playing off of each other to perfection. The track lulls you in with enigmatic, dreamy respite just as easily as it rocks into an anticipated exultation of emotion— a complementary juxtaposition that defines the multilayered approach to Josephine’s writing. Behind “Does It Pay” is the constant question “Who am I to say?” And as Luhman puts it, “The majority of us are worked to the bone just to live day to day.”
Listen to “Does It Pay” by Josephine below: