Interview: Josephine Network

Discussing Her Excellent New Album 'Hooked'

Apr 04, 2026

Josephine Network from the “Hooked” video with Josephine in the center.

There’s a lyric from the title track of the new Josephine Network album Hooked that I can’t get out of my head:

People talk
Silly little hummingbirds

Those lines are so cuttingly dismissive—so precise—especially when juxtaposed with the swaggering Big Star-meets-Thin Lizzy riff rock surrounding them. You could, as the video suggests, simply shake your ass while shooting pool and be happy, but there is more to this track (and the whole album) than might initially shimmy into your ears.

“There is an on-going theme throughout the album, private life vs. public life. Some songs are more personal and some are more collective, scene portraits,” Josephine told me for the interview below.

Hooked was written and recorded in Brooklyn over the last couple of years and released in March by Lolipop Records.

“The album has such an arc to it. It feels like a journey, and it wouldn’t have that quality if we had taken a normal amount of time to make it. I would encourage artists to take a while and savor making the record. The process is the best part,” Josephine said.

I caught up with Josephine by email as the band prepares for their North American tour with The Lemon Twigs in late April and early May. We discuss major power pop and glam influences, album sequencing, and the rock and roll power of stylish shoes.

Congrats on the fantastic new album. Can you tell me a little about how this one was written and recorded?

Josephine: Thank you! I would make demos at my place, and then bring them to my friend Ryan Howe's studio. We tracked with drummers Hershguy and Nat Brower, and I would play guitar and layer bass, keys and vocals on top. Ryan handled the engineering and mixing. We took our sweet time with it, slowly and steadily cooking until it felt done.

I was immediately hooked by the opening track “Rock and Roll Singer.” This one has great guitar riffs, but I was really struck by the theme and lyrics. What was the inspiration?

Josephine: Thank you! The inspiration for the song is from my life. I was walking down the street in a mini-skirt and a tight T-shirt. I had a show to play later that night. As a trans woman, I get stared at, I get cat-called—it's a part of life.

So I was walking down the street looking beautiful, and this guy pulls up in a Lincoln and says, “Hey baby, you need a ride?” And that's where the chorus comes in, “Don’t need a ride, got a job tonight, I’m a rock and roll singer.”

That’s followed by the title track, another one on the Big Star end of the power pop spectrum (with more great Thin Lizzy-style guitar riffs). Are those bands that you consider as influences? Who else?

Josephine: I deeply love Big Star. "Hooked" has a Thin Lizzy thing for sure, the dual guitar stuff is very Thin Lizzy. More than half the songs on the album have guitar harmonies. The world needs more harmony!

Spiritually, the album has a Beach Boys feeling. There is a lack of bitterness in the lyrics, and a lot of car imagery, and enough vocal harmonies to evoke The Beach Boys. Also, my singing style is inspired by Ronnie Spector.

“All I’ll Do” rounds out the incredible three-song opening of Hooked. The songs all seem sonically intertwined. Were they written around the same time? How intentional was that sequencing?

Josephine: Thank you. For a while “Revved Up Things” was going to be track 3. I think we were thinking, “Let’s hit them with three heavy ones off the bat.” But I am so partial to “All I’ll Do,” it’s one of my favorites. I love a straight up love song.

So, last minute I moved “All I’ll Do” to the third spot. I’m glad I did, I’m proud of the sequencing. If you notice, the A-side starts heavy and gets softer as it goes on. And then the B-side revs up into hard rock again. The album has a tough exterior and a soft center.

“Mary Jane Girls” opens the stylistic aperture a bit. Is this an ode to footwear and fashion or the early ‘80s girl group of the same name?

Josephine: Mary Janes are great shoes, very feminine, practical and versatile. Also, I like songs that describe scenes, and this song is as much about shoes as it is about the rock and roll girls that wear them. Shout out to the ‘80s Mary Jane Girls too; I wasn’t thinking of them when I wrote the song, but they are great group.

I love the T. Rex/Gary Glitter feel of “Kiss of the T.” Do you take a different approach to songs that are more in the glam realm?

Josephine: Well, yeah, sometimes you write with no objective, but in this case I specifically set out to write a “stomp” kind of song. I wanted it to feel dangerous. It ended up being the most sinister track on the album, the whispers are so devilish to me. It’s also the most surreal lyrically. The presence of the phoenix implies that a transformation is taking place, like a sacred rite or something. It’s mysterious. You don’t quite know what the “T” stands for. It could be a number of things.

“The Rockers” is one of my favorite tracks on Hooked. Why was that the right song to close out this collection?

Josephine: Thanks! There's something full circle about it. Starting with “Rock and Roll Singer” and ending with “The Rockers.” I think it’s cool that the album starts personal and ends with this communal kind of celebration. The most important line on the record is, “You can rock and roll too.” That’s the whole point—you can do it to. And if you’re gonna do it, make it louder!