Showing posts with label The Cords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Cords. Show all posts

Tuesday, 30 September 2025

The Cords - Terry White - Kate Prendergast - Erica Knox

The Cords - The Cords (Album).

The debut album from The Cords, described previously on Beehive Candy as the brightest new indie pop band from Scotland, has now been released. It's everything the singles promised it would be, vibrant, addictive and oozing charm and energy.

The album was produced by Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel, and it respects the band’s stripped down DIY approach. There is some bass guitar (played by Eva and Grace) and occasionally a keyboard pokes its head above the surface.  

But these elements are simply doing their job: the real stars of this record are Eva’s sinuous guitar and silky vocals, and Grace’s clattering, expressive sing-song drums.  It’s the sound of two sisters having an intense musical conversation with each other, pushing each other on to greater heights, exhilarated by the set of perfect pop songs they have magicked up.  


============================================================================

Terry White - You Won't Have a Name.

Chicago singer-songwriter Terry White's new album You Won't Have a Name was released a couple of days ago. White, known for his work with Modern Day Saints and the Yellowhammers, released his solo debut, Our Separate Ways, in 2007 and then formed the band Cannonball in 2009. Cannonball was an opportunity to collaborate with other musicians based around long-running venue FitzGerald’s Nightclub in Berwyn, IL, and White's 2012 album Cannonball Fodder, produced by Jon Langford (Mekons, Waco Bros, Skull Orchard), celebrates that spirit of collaboration and being part of a musical community.
 
2020's Still Got Me, credited to Terry White and his backing band The Loaded Dice, continued to shine a light on White's fine songwriting and musicianship and set the stage for his fourth full-length solo album You Won't Have a Home.
 
You Won't Have a Home is a collection of songs written over the last four years. It began in 2021 when White, Paul Bivans (drums), Andon Davis (guitar), Michael Krayniak (bass) and Chris Neville (organ) met at Joyride Studios, owned by engineer Blaise Barton (who sadly passed away on June 12, 2025), in Chicago. 
 
The songs that comprise You Won't Have a Home were recorded one at a time, with as few overdubs as possible, to maintain a "live in-studio" sound. Over the course of many sessions, White enlisted his musician friends, including Brian Leach (who also engineered and mixed tracks on the album), Gerald Dowd, Patrick Brennan, Rob Pierce, John Pirruccello, and Phil Bayer, to lend their voices and assorted instruments to flesh out the desired sounds and textures. He further enlisted Pie Eyed Pete Cimbalo (bass), Sheila Cimbalo (vocals) and Tom Kneesel (pedal steel) to record a version of "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Lost Gatos)," written by Woody Guthrie and Martin Hoffman. 


============================================================================

Kate Prendergast - Retold Tale / Ignition.

Kate Prendergast is a young, emerging alt-folk musician and singer-songwriter living in County Meath in Ireland. A keen vocalist, Kate also plays piano, guitar, bass and is learning drums and harmonica. She is carefully building a portfolio of original songs which broadly sit within the alt-folk genre but experiments with ideas and influences from country, blues, jazz and a tinge of rock.

Her first single ‘Past Letters’ was recorded in her small home studio and received considerable radio attention in Ireland and the UK. John Dinsmore (formerly lead singer of the Beat Poets) saw promise in her songwriting abilities and introduced her to producer Declan Legge of Analogue Catalogue Studio B and manager of bands such as Jealous of the Birds and Vera. Declan invited Kate to visit his studio in Newry to work on a single and her second song ‘Undergrowth’ was recorded with drums and bass provided by the talented Darragh Tibbs.

Following the success of this second single, Kate and Declan decided to collaborate further and recorded ‘Lavender Country’. This time Kate chose to move away from the drums of ‘Undergrowth’ in favour of a slow build and change in mood during the song from wistful dreaming to cautious hope to upbeat optimism reflecting the challenging roads many of us traverse as we search for peace and balance in our lives.

Kate's next single 'Ignition' was released on 9th May 2025. Ignition explores the uncertainties of starting a new episode in life and the conflicting feelings that often arise for those left behind - between the desire to see loved ones flourish in their new futures and the yearning for them to return home. This was followed by 'Retold Tale' in September which is a commentary on the experiences, doubts and challenges facing countless young artists as they try to make an impact in a noisy and sometimes disdainful world.



============================================================================

Photo - Calm Elliott Armstrong
Erica Knox - Growing Song.

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Erica Knox continues her Abbey Road Studios story with “Growing Song” a chill, introspective soft-pop track that balances vulnerability with resilience. Written during her time at the legendary London studio – handpicked as one of three artists to record there through DHL’s FastTrack Sessions – the single lays bare Knox’s moments of self-doubt while celebrating the growth that comes with perseverance.

“It’s a very vulnerable song, highlighting every thought of self-doubt that tends to race through my head,” Knox shares. “Among that comes knowing that things will eventually work out as long as I keep trying to build a happy life, and a strong career for myself.”

The track’s inspiration ties directly to Knox’s journey. After being turned down for the same contest in 2023, she almost didn’t apply again in 2024. But a last-minute submission won her a life-changing opportunity. “A few weeks later I was being flown out to London. I was so proud of myself for making it here and I had to write about the mental challenges leading up to that moment.”

Sonically, “Growing Song” carries inspiration from The Staves’ rich harmonies and open guitar tuning, whose live performance Knox attended the night before writing. The subtle production leans into dreamscape vocal effects and spacious instrumentation, highlighting the lyricism at its core.


============================================================================

Friday, 12 September 2025

The Cords - Chris Rawlins - Halley Neal - At Baron Lane

Photo - Marc Tedeschi
The Cords - When You Said Goodbye.

Beehive Candy are really pleased to share the third single by The Cords from their forthcoming debut album. 'When You Said Goodbye' is a heart-rending pop song, it’s deeper, heavier and more immersive that the first two singles, but somehow it’s just as catchy. Grace and Eve Tedeschi may be young, but this is the sound of a band who are already totally accomplished at writing pop classics.

Comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, they started playing drums when they were little kids. As mentioned the last time we featured them, they found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar and the songs started to flow.

The forthcoming debut album was produced by Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel, and it respects the band’s stripped down DIY approach. There is some bass guitar (played by Eva and Grace) and occasionally a keyboard pokes its head above the surface.  But these elements are simply doing their job: the real stars of this record are Eva’s sinuous guitar and silky vocals, and Grace’s clattering, expressive sing-song drums.  It’s the sound of two sisters having an intense musical conversation with each other, pushing each other on to greater heights, exhilarated by the set of perfect pop songs they have magicked up. 


============================================================================

Chris Rawlins - After Dark.

Chicago-based Indie-folk singer-songwriter Chris Rawlins is set to release his much-anticipated sophomore album, Flyover, on October 24, 2025 — a spacious, haunting, and deeply personal exploration of place, memory, and the quiet emotional weather systems of adulthood. The album arrives six years after Rawlins' critically-acclaimed 2019 debut Bring on the Rain, and stands as both a sonic evolution and a return home, in more ways than one.

Described by Rawlins as “a love letter to the landscapes, culture, and mystique of the Midwest,” Flyover meditates on the region’s overlooked beauty and unique emotional terrain. Through richly imagistic lyrics and immersive, Terry Allen-esque folk instrumentation, Rawlins paints a world of cornfields that become desolate oceans at dusk, of shadowy cities, and of love lost to a dream like longing — all filtered through the lens of a songwriter quietly observing from 30,000 feet above, and decades removed from childhood.

The album’s first single, “After Dark,” is released today September 12. “I started with the idea of ‘flyover’ as a concept," Rawlins says, “but it grew into something more emotional. It’s not just the Midwest being flown over — it’s about people being passed over, forgotten, left behind. There’s a quiet ache to that. And I think a lot of folks have felt it, especially in the past few years.” The concept of Flyover has roots going back as far as 2019, when some of the earliest songs were written, even before Rawlins released his debut.


============================================================================

Halley Neal - Letter For a Friend (Album).

Halley Neal is an award-winning folk singer and songwriter whose music radiates warmth, positivity, and peace. Based in Boston by way of Nashville, Halley blends lyrical, heartfelt songwriting with soaring vocals and vibrant, bluegrass-inspired instrumentation. Often performing alongside her trio of upright bass and fiddle, her live shows are intimate, uplifting experiences that highlight her honest lyrics and effortlessly expressive voice.

A rising presence in the Americana and folk scenes, Halley has toured nationally, performing in listening rooms and folk venues across the country. She has graced the stages of major festivals including the Kerrville Folk Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. Among her career highlights, Halley has opened for and shared the stage in a duet performance with Grammy-winning artist Sara Bareilles - an experience that reflects both her talent and growing recognition in the contemporary folk world.

Following the success of her critically acclaimed 2022 album Beautiful and Blue, Halley's next full-length record, Letter for a Friend, is out today September 12th. 2025.  Written as a collection of personal letters to the people who have shaped, influenced, and inspired her, the album was recorded in Nashville and reflects her most intimate and narrative-driven work to date. The project is a concept record titled Letter For a Friend.  "Every track on the album is written as a letter to someone who has deeply influenced or impacted my life - it's a very personal and intentional collection of songs that I’m really excited to share with the world," she shares. 

Halley further confides, "Do you ever think about the words left unsaid — texts we don’t send, letters we never write? Letter For a Friend grew from that question, and from a song I wrote for my oldest friend, Emily, reflecting on the ways she shaped my life. Each track on the album is a letter — to friends, loved ones, strangers, even to myself — capturing gratitude, memory, and the courage it takes to speak the words that matter. Though deeply personal, the album is universally human, a reminder that connection transforms both the giver and the receiver. Letter For a Friend is an invitation to reach out, to honor the people who’ve changed us, and to never wait for the perfect moment to say what’s in your heart — to just say it now."


============================================================================

At Baron Lane - Trilogie (EP).

With “Gotta Get Out”, At Baron Lane kicks off their new EP Trilogie - an energetic, short, and punchy track that immediately grabs you with driving guitars and saxophone hooks. The song has clear ska-punk influences and feels like a mix between Madness and The Clash, yet the unmistakable indie sound of At Baron Lane still shines through. Trilogie is released today September 12 2025.

At Baron Lane is a four-piece indie band from around Zürich (up to Lachen SZ). Since the release of their debut album “in Paradise”, which they celebrated in 2019 at Amboss Rampe Zürich, the band has continuously refined their songwriting and successfully tested it live at countless concerts. The quartet has performed at venues such as Schüür Luzern, Exil Club Zürich, and Werk21 at Dynamo Zürich. With their single “Future-Men”, released in June 2025, the band has already gained airplay on various indie radio stations both in Switzerland and internationally.

The EP Trilogie features the first three tracks from the upcoming concept album “The Cause”, which At Baron Lane will release at the end of October 2025. The album tells the story of a fictional revolutionary named Lenny, who seeks a way out of the bureaucratic system of our society and gathers a following around him. Whether he will succeed in making a change remains to be seen.


============================================================================

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

Eileen Carey - Brògeal - The Cords

Eileen Carey - Carry Me Away.

Eileen Carey's brand new single "Carry Me Away" is all about finding that special place to get away and be in the magic of living in the moment. The seductive upbeat pop-country song also narrates finding a space to make those important changes needed in life.

Eileen Carey is an award-winning country-pop singer-songwriter based in Altadena, California. Known for her infectious optimism and genre-blending sound, Carey has become a standout figure in the independent music scene, earning accolades such as the New Music Awards’ AC/Hot AC Breakthrough Artist of 2025 and the Independent Music Network’s Entertainer of the Year in 2025.

Her music, described as “West Coast Pop-Country”, is upbeat, accessible, and emotionally resonant. Carey’s singles like “Land with You” and “Good Bad Girl” have topped radio charts and earned praise for their empowering messages and danceable melodies1.

A dynamic live performer, Carey has shared stages with legends including Don McLean, Rita Coolidge, Jefferson Starship, and The Motels, captivating audiences with her “Gretchen Wilson-meets-Miranda Lambert” stage presence. Her shows are known for turning passive listeners into active participants, with line dancing, singalongs, and standing ovations. 


============================================================================

Brògeal - Go Home Tae Yer Bed.

This week Brògeal release their new single "Go Home Tae Yer Bed" ahead of their debut album. "Go Home Tae Yer Bed" is Scottish band Brògeal's most personal release yet. 

“Been sitting on this tune for a year or two, again not knowing what to do with it. The boys done a really good job adding their instruments to it, as I’d honestly no direction to go in", says Aidan Callaghan. "This song deals with grief, and that’s all I’ll say.” 

Featuring a stunning Gaelic translation and vocals from Lewis’s Josie Duncan, it’s a raw, moving departure from their usual sound—the band's debut album Tuesday Paper Club will be out on October 17.



============================================================================

The Cords - I'm Not Sad.

The second single by fantastic young sibling-duo, The Cords, has been released today. It's short, sweet, upbeat… the perfect pop song for a heatwave summer! The Cords' debut album, is scheduled for release on September 26th.

The Cords are the brightest new indiepop band from Scotland.  Comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, they started playing drums when they were little kids.  They found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar – and the songs started to flow.

With only a cassette and a flexi single released so far (both of which sold out in a matter of hours), Eva and Grace honed their skills by playing a whole series of gigs with some of the biggest names in Scottish pop.  Their first show was with The Vaselines, and since then they have played with Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian, BMX Bandits and others, while also sharing stages with the new generation of indiepop stars: the Umbrellas, Chime School, Lightheaded.  They are embraced by established stars and adored by their contemporaries.

The Cords were invited to record a session for Riley and Coe on 6 Music on the back of their early releases, and have now recorded their eagerly-awaited debut album, which will be co-released by Skep Wax (in the UK and Europe) and Slumberland Records (in America).  Like all great pop bands, The Cords have taken familiar ingredients and created something utterly fresh.  Older indie fans will hear echoes of The Shop Assistants, The Primitives, Tiger Trap and Talulah Gosh, but they will hear something else too: a yearning, dreamy melodic power that takes the songs into darker, stranger places. 



============================================================================

Wednesday, 23 July 2025

The Cords - Alex Fernet - Honey Motel

The Cords - Fabulist.

The Cords are the brightest new indie pop band from Scotland. Comprising sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, they started playing drums when they were little kids.  They found that they liked 80s and 90s indie music more than their peers did, and so formed a band, just the two of them, with Grace on drums and Eva on guitar – and the songs started to flow. Skep Wax Records (UK/Europe) & Slumberland Records (US) will release their debut album on 26 September 2025.

First single ‘Fabulist’ is a sweet and catchy pop song that races along, so headlong and hooky that, on first listen, you could miss the fact that it’s a wholehearted take-down of people who lie for a living.  And the album is a rollercoaster from that point onwards.  ‘Just Don’t Know (How To Be You)’ turns the jangle-meter up, quickly giving way to ‘October’, which pushes it higher still.  A lot of the songs are short and sweet, but the album is full of surprises.  ‘Yes It’s True’ comes in with real swagger, then softens you up with Lush-like vocal harmonies.  Closing track ‘When You Said Goodbye’ is a dreamy tearjerker. 

The album was produced by Jonny Scott and Simon Liddel, and it respects the band’s stripped down DIY approach. There is some bass guitar (played by Eva and Grace) and occasionally a keyboard pokes its head above the surface.  But these elements are simply doing their job: the real stars of this record are Eva’s sinuous guitar and silky vocals, and Grace’s clattering, expressive sing-song drums.  It’s the sound of two sisters having an intense musical conversation with each other, pushing each other on to greater heights, exhilarated by the set of perfect pop songs they have magicked up.  


============================================================================

Photo - Riccardo Michelazzo
Alex Fernet - Hey Lady.

Post-funk artist Alex Fernet has recently announced the release of his new album 'Modern Night' on 26th September via Bronson Recordings. Alex Fernet has already shared two singles from the upcoming record: 'Sunlight Vampires,' which introduces a recurring character of the album and 'The Nightdrive,' described by Alex as the album's manifesto, depicting a night journey through eerie, deserted streets.
 
This week sees the release of the third and final single, 'Hey Lady'. This track is more intimate: a whispered confession in a smoke-filled lounge. There’s romance here, but it’s disillusioned, filtered through VHS fuzz and draped in the kind of synth-pop sadness you might hear from a car stereo in 1983, parked outside a closed-down bowling alley.
 
Self-produced by Alex and mixed and mastered by Maurizio Baggio (Boy Harsher, The Soft Moon), 'Modern Night' musically defies easy categorisation. There are echoes of AOR radio ballads, post-industrial funk, and soul music stripped of optimism. Think of it as future nostalgia with dirt under its fingernails: a deeply contemporary work that rejects digital perfection in favour of analogue imperfection. As Fernet puts it: “In an era of over-edited sound, the most radical act might be to let things breathe.”


============================================================================

Honey Motel - Milk.

Ahead of their set on the mainstage at Y Not festival, Liverpool's Honey Motel announce the upcoming EP Motel FM and share the radiant new single ‘Milk’. Opening with an illusory opening acapella vocal, ‘Milk’ soon bursts into a buoyant wall of indie through jazzy guitar chords, thick bass and tight offbeat drums. As the track reaches its euphoric chorus, the band's alt-rock side shines through as the vocals soar high above the crunching guitar tones, creating a sound instantly comparable to Nothing But Thieves. 

Produced by Alec Brits (Clean Cut Kid, Michael Aldag, St Catherine’s Child), the new single builds on the acclaim the band have previously gained across national press and radio alike, showcasing the bands evolution as they build towards the release of the new EP. 

Talking about ‘Milk’, guitarist Sam explains: “Milk explores the quiet unraveling that happens when you're unable to open up, especially in moments of emotional low. The song captures the struggle of bottling things up, of feeling detached, numb, and disconnected from the world around you, particularly through the lens of male vulnerability. 

Inspired by Freddie’s own experiences, Milk sits in that tension: the fear of speaking, the pressure to keep going, and the subtle cracks that form when you can’t. The lyric “where are the drums” becomes a cry for distraction, a metaphor for the urge to drown out what’s really going on inside, or a question of why life doesn’t feel as effortless as it seems for others. It's a track about losing grip, quietly, and what it sounds like when no one hears it.”


============================================================================

Celestial Bums - The Brook & The Bluff - KiKi Holli & The Remedy - Cut Flowers - The Legal Matters

Celestial Bums - The Letters. Shoegaze warmth and dream pop elegance converge in Celestial Bums’ “The Letters” Barcelona’s Celestial Bums ...