Trial Tapes began during what songwriter Jack McNally calls “a euphoric and quietly transformative” stretch between 2022 and 2024. Having returned to Liverpool after over a decade in Brighton, newly out of the closet and starting over, he began writing songs in isolation, reconnecting with music as a form of catharsis and discovery.
The band name itself nods to a few origin points: an early desktop folder labelled “Trial Takes”, a BBC documentary (AIDS: The Unheard Tapes), and the tactile charm of recording vocals onto cassette. What unites them is a sense of experimentation and a desire to preserve something real and meaningful.
Debut single ‘Coughing Fits’ was released earlier this year, and is the first track to be taken from a bold debut EP set for release in 2026, with further details to be announced over the coming months. The 5 track collection captures a raw and intimate period of radical self-reinvention for McNally, marking his return to music after nearly a decade of silence.
Blending motorik rhythms, warped guitars, and lush synths with emotionally candid lyrics that explore queer identity, late blooming, and the quiet absurdities of modern life, the song evokes the modern art rock majesty of Perfume Genius, and the cautious British wit of Suede.
Lyrically representing the core themes of his soon-to-be-revealed forthcoming debut EP—chiefly McNally’s late coming out story and reconciliation of hetero/homo-normativity—it was an accomplished first step from a songwriter who has finally found his authentic voice.
Recorded largely solo at home, his forthcoming debut EP fuses elements of scuzzy indie rock, lo-fi synth-pop, and artful storytelling. McNally’s influences range from Kim Deal and Jai Paul to T. Rex, Courtney Barnett, and queer duo Man on Man, all reinterpreted through a uniquely personal, kitchen-sink lens.