Tea Head – Next Year (2023)
Originally formed in 2018 as a duo featuring the talents of Joe Bucci (guitar) and John Fordyce (vocals and guitar), the not-yet-named Tea Head began making music. When drummer Gabe Sagherian joined the US-based lads, the name Tea Head came about, and they began sharing their music with the masses. At their first show, bassist John McDermott made their acquaintance and thus, Tea Head become a quartet. Since then, the foursome has built a reputation for energetic, infectious performances and melodic, contagious melodies.
2018 and 2019 saw Tea Head performing at various venues, as well as releasing their well-received singles ‘Daddy Did It’ and ‘Sweet’ but things came to a halt during the pandemic years. Interestingly, while Covid put a spanner in the works, Tea Head signed to Free Dive Records in 2020 and released their acclaimed debut album Bachelor in 2021. Come with us as we delve into their discography and particularly the latest single ‘Next Year’.
Following tracks ‘Maybe In Another Life’ and ‘All A Waste’, ‘Next Year’ is more harmonic, mellifluous and filled with ambient guitars lending to a hazy fog of sound. Vocalist and guitarist Fordyce describes ‘Next Year’ as his “…good mood song…my little bubble”, and this is pretty much a perfect description. Opening with leanings toward old-school post-punk, the drums, guitars and bass flood the soundscape with a kaleidoscopic sonic mist; however, as the track continues, a stronger, hard-hitting and bouncier pop-rock tone worms through to end things off. This not only shows the band’s innovation as artists but also their natural versatility.
Recorded with Vic Antonio (production and mixing) and Tyler Ripley (mastering) at Little Brother Audio in West Philadelphia, ‘Next Year’ brings a hit of acoustic within the electronic musical haze. What I find intriguing is how the melody expertly expresses the theme of Tea Head’s singles to reflect their “expansion and growth as songwriters and artists”. ‘Next Year’ uses poetic lyricism to describe the need to live in the present and not focus on the past or future. Gabe Sagherian explains: “Too often we get hung up on worrying about what’s next when we should be dialled in on the present.”
Sincere, sentimental, introspective and thought-provoking, Tea Head release their single ‘Next Year’.
For more from Tea Head, check out their Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
