(Make Me A) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 238: The Cords

The Cords

The Cords are a Scottish indie pop duo made up of sisters Eva and Grace Tedeschi, whose music distils youthful urgency into sharp, melodic songs driven by guitar and drums. Raised on a steady diet of indie records, they gravitated early toward the sounds of classic jangle-pop and underground pop, forging a partnership built on instinct, simplicity and momentum. The pair quickly built a reputation through a handful of ultra-limited early releases that disappeared almost as soon as they appeared. At the same time, they earned their stripes on stage, performing alongside cornerstone names of Scottish pop history as well as a new wave of like-minded indie bands, bridging generations with an ease that feels entirely natural. Their debut album, The Cords, marks a major step forward. Released by Skep Wax in the UK and Europe (with Slumberland handling the US), the record captures the immediacy of their live sound while revealing a growing emotional range. Short, punchy songs sit alongside more reflective moments, all held together by Eva’s bright, winding guitar lines and vocals and Grace’s propulsive, characterful drumming. The production stays true to their stripped-back approach, letting energy and melody take centre stage. While listeners familiar with indie pop’s past may catch hints of earlier movements and scenes, The Cords is firmly rooted in the present. It’s the sound of two young musicians playing loudly, honestly and without compromise, finding freedom in analogue instruments and direct expression. In doing so, The Cords reaffirm the enduring power of pop music that is handmade, heartfelt and shared on its own terms.

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Grand Drifter – Any Second Now (single)

Any Second Now marks a new chapter for Grand Drifter, the musical project of Italian songwriter Andrea Calvo. Active since 2016, Grand Drifter moves fluidly between solo work and band arrangements, shaping a distinctive pop language rooted in warmth, melodic sensitivity, and a quietly human approach to songwriting. Calvo’s music is an act of gentle resistance: a celebration of kindness, vulnerability, and emotional honesty in everyday life. Written slowly, in the spaces between lived moments, Any Second Now is a hopeful song about rediscovering love within the steady rhythm of ordinary days. Calvo played all the instruments himself, working closely with producer Dario Mecca Aleina on sounds and orchestral arrangements to create an intimate yet luminous atmosphere. The single is also the first glimpse of a new set of bright songs that will gradually lead toward Grand Drifter’s next album, due next year. The 1967-inspired cover artwork, created by Sergio Varbella, perfectly mirrors the song’s timeless and understated mood, completing a release that feels both personal and quietly radiant.

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(Make Me A) TRISTE© Mixtape Episode 237: Starlight Assembly

Starlight Assembly (©Riccardo Diotallevi)

Starlight Assembly is a collaborative project uniting Italian musician, producer, and sonic experimenter Matteo Uggeri with Dominic Appleton, the iconic voice of the British band Breathless and longtime contributor to This Mortal Coil. Born from a remote collaboration, the project represents Appleton’s first significant work outside Breathless in which he also takes on the role of lyricist, marking a new creative chapter after decades of writing exclusively within his band. The collaboration took shape after Uggeri – known for projects such as Sparkle In Grey and Open To The Sea – initially contacted Appleton for a single contribution. Encouraged indirectly by former 4AD founder Ivo Watts-Russell, Appleton embraced the challenge of working beyond his long-standing musical framework, leading to the formation of Starlight Assembly. Their debut album, Starlight And Still Air (2021), was assembled through long-distance exchanges and features contributions from members of Sparkle In Grey alongside a wide network of collaborators. Building on the strong reception of their debut, Uggeri and Appleton quickly began work on a second album. Released four years later, There Will Be Fireworks refines and expands the project’s aesthetic, favoring a more crepuscular mood and a clearer song form while retaining complex rhythmic structures and textural depth. Starlight Assembly occupies a distinctive space between experimental music and modern songcraft, driven by mutual admiration, shared sensibilities, and a rare convergence of voices shaped by decades of underground culture.

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Shopfires – We Could Fall Apart (single and video premiere)

Leicester musician Neil Hill launched Shopfires in late 2023 with Summer Bruises, a homespun jangly-pop gem that immediately caught the attention of Subjangle’s Darrin Lee and led to the release of Hill’s self-titled debut album in March 2024. A second full-length, Holding On to Let Go, followed just a few months later, confirming Shopfires as one of the most compelling new voices in intimate, guitar-driven indie pop. Working with little more than an acoustic guitar, warm keys, and a bedroom-DIY setup, Hill crafts shimmering, cascading melodies that echo Brighter, The Field Mice, Heavenly, and Television Personalities, yet retain a modern tenderness all his own. His songs glow with lo-fi clarity, introspective lyrics, and that unmistakable 80s-indie intelligence, familiar yet newly revived. As Shopfires continues to evolve, we’re thrilled to share the next chapter: We Could Fall Apart, the project’s brand-new single, streaming now in exclusive premiere on TRISTE© ahead of its official release on Wednesday.

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Smith & Cohen – Half Life (track by track)

Over almost three decades of collaboration, Karl Smith and Pete Cohen have continued to move through the seasons of life with the same quiet grace that has always shaped their music. From their days as Sodastream -an emblem of intimate, melancholic acoustic pop- to the present, the duo has learned to balance family, work, and creative urgency without ever losing their instinct for honest songwriting. Returning now as Smith & Cohen, they offer Half Life: an album that feels like a patient reflection on time passing, on growing older, and on the fragile value of everyday things. Letting go of the Sodastream name was not a rupture but a natural evolution -an act of awareness by two musicians who have always dared to sing their truth. And while the hallmarks of their sound remain -the warm double bass, the understated guitar, the soft melancholy woven through every line- the music here breathes differently. It is more spacious, more open, shaped by fewer collaborators and by the silences and distances that life inevitably introduces.

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