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The Shit is a collaborative EP from Talking With Hands and Telefone — a sandwich of "shit" songs that are anything but.
With “Hot Shit”, Talking with Hands reflects on his own autobiography, a look back at his own youthful ego that, thankfully, gave way to parenthood not debauchery. Telefone’s “Bullshit” approaches from the opposite angle, a visceral takedown of a chronic deceiver. Neither artist was aware the other was writing their own “shit” song but a shared love of loud guitars, sharp humor, and calling things what they are made it clear the tracks should be combined into a split release.
The recording process was unconventional by design. Telefone’s Mac Burrus, now living in Spain, works eight hours ahead of his Austin, TX bandmates Justin and Brandon Tapp. Whereas the songs from their debut album were culled from a decade of demos, these new tracks were iterated on in real time over just a few weeks, keeping the momentum fresh. The collaboration across timezones turned into a creative rhythm - sending files at night, waking to new ones.
Talking with Hands’ Matt Smith used to say “no air was harmed in the making of this record” - joking that every note you heard from him was a modeled amp, drum, or digitally modified sound. With “Hot Shit,” he built out his home studio and embraced more raw sound, forever refining and expanding the Talking with Hands palette.
All four tracks across the release find both artists expanding their sonic palette into heavier territory. Maybe it’s their mutual appreciation for the Scorpions' legendary "Sails of Charon,” or maybe it’s the healthy skepticism toward the endless supply of shit that exists in modern life- these songs don’t hold back. No shit.
Credits
“Hot Shit” / “Tell Me Your Sins”
Written and performed by Matt Smith
©2026 Songs By Hands (ASCAP)
“Bullshit” / “ESP”
Written by Mac Burrus; Justin Tapp
Performed by Telefone; Justin Tapp, Brandon Tapp, Mac Burrus
©2026 McBurneyMusic (BMI), Industrial Audioworks (ASCAP)