Cocodamol puts the spotlight on Gen Z’s love/hate relationship with love in a party culture.

Keyside are known for blending kitchen-sink social commentaries with guitar-pop perfections and sparkling melodies. ‘Cocodamol’ is no different.

Frontman Dani-Lee Parker uses the title’s painkiller as a metaphor for a temporary human plaster, exploring themes of ‘situationships’ and ‘friends with benefits’, capturing the moment of realisation that you’ve become someone else’s emotional hangover.

Keyside wear their Liverpool roots on their sleeve, brimming with highly melodic, Scouse jangle rhythms through a clean, driving acoustic guitar. Layer that with electric guitar hooks and an upbeat, propulsive rhythm section. They draw inspiration from Scouse icons like The La’s and The Zutons.

As with all Keyside tracks, Parker delivers Mersey melodicsm in an effortless, catchy style.

‘Cocodamol’ is the latest stepping-stone on the way to their newly announced, self-titled debut album. As well as announcing the track listing for their debut long-player, set for release on Fri 7 August 2026 with Modern Sky, the radio-friendly, documentarian jangle specialists look forward to a huge, Liverpool homecoming this winter, announcing a show at their home city’s 2,300-capacity Mountford Hall for 12 December 2026.

“Cocodamol” explores loose love in party culture,” reveals Parker. “Friends-with-benefits, emotional placeholders, intimacy without permanence. It’s about waking up beside someone and being their painkiller: easing the physical hangover while ignoring the emotional one.”

Now stood on a deserved pedestal of the brightest of British songwriting prospects, the sparky four-piece’s long-awaited first album, recorded at Kempston Street Studios in the company of producer, Chris Taylor (The Coral, Blossoms, Brooke Combe), is ready for release into the bright light of the year’s longest days.

Having announced their arrival on national radio, including BBC Radio 1 and 6 Music daytimes, with 2024’s intricate and affecting new wave character study, Nikita, the authenticity in the words of songwriter and lyricist, Dani-Lee Parker continue to connect with fans hungry for a voice that speaks of their own struggles, joys and hopes.

Noting modern indie influences, such as Djo and Sombr, alongside legendary songwriting titans including The Strokes, The Smiths and The La’s. Parker is joined in the band by Ben Cassidy(lead guitar), Max Gibson (bass, backing vocals) and Oisín McAvoy (drums).

Revelling in the sense of immediate connection with their growing family of fans in venues of constantly growing scale, Keyside look ahead to their momentous Christmas homecoming on top of imminent summer festival and dates on the road with label mates, Red Rum Club and The Lathums.

Set for release on 7th August across multiple formats including standard and special edition vinyl, CD and digital, Keyside have confirmed the running order for the album as follows:

1. Runaway
2. Angeline
3. Down My Way
4. Lemon And Lime
5.Heaven
6. Comedown
7. Rock My Love
8. Cocodamol
9. Red Ruby Red
10, Nikita
11. Michael (What’s Your Call?)
12. Echoes 

Written by Brad Halcrow for The Songbird HQ