Liverpool’s queer indie rock newcomer Trial Tapes — the alias of songwriter and producer Jack McNally — has shared his new single Slowpoke, out now ahead of his debut EP ‘5 Notes’, dropping 5th May 2026 on limited cassette and digital.
The track is a gutpunch of self-awareness and dry humor, tackling the very specific experience of coming out later in life and suddenly finding yourself a freshman in a world that’s been running without you. McNally explains it better than anyone:
“This one is for the adult queers who experienced an onset of grief and imposter syndrome for those carefree and formative years that we never got to experience. There’s nothing quite so jarring as feeling new again and 100 years old at the same time after entering the gay scene at the ripe old age of 31. There are standards, norms, codes and assumptions delivered with an expectation to comply. This is a song about the collective clutch of the pearls that occurs when a pop culture reference flies above my head in a room full of gays.”
McNally returned to Liverpool after more than a decade in Brighton, newly out and starting fresh — and turned that disorientation into music. What kicked off as a cathartic solo experiment grew into an obsessive daily ritual and eventually the genre-blurring sound of Trial Tapes. The whole EP was self-recorded at home on a DIY setup, co-produced and mixed by Chris Hendrick (Winterquilt Audio), with drums handled remotely by Bill Burns in London. Rich Fownes (Not Richard & Her Majesty, ex-80s Matchbox) also gets a production credit on 42.
Across five tracks, ‘5 Notes’ blends scuzzy indie rock, lo-fi synth-pop and artful lyricism — drawing on a wildly fun mix of influences including Kim Deal, Jai Paul, T. Rex, Courtney Barnett, and queer duo Man on Man. It’s kitchen-sink indie with real emotional weight behind it.
Trial Tapes recently opened for Wavves and Not Richard & Her Majesty, and have just been announced for FOCUS Wales 2026 alongside a handful of UK headline dates. The EP launch show goes down in Liverpool on 7th May — grab tickets via the link below.
‘5 Notes’ EP Tracklist
- Slowpoke
- 42
- Coughing Fits
- Leopard Print Skulls
- Sliding
Live Dates
- 06 May — Manchester, Peer Hat
- 07 May — Liverpool, Lost Art (EP Launch)
- 08 May — Wrexham, FOCUS Wales
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