How a chance gym encounter and 1970s audio engineering shaped the band’s second full-length record.
Transmission 430: Interview with Everyone Says Hi
Recorded in Nick Hodgson’s home studio between May and September 2025, Funny Cos It’s True is the second full-length from Everyone Says Hi. Following their 2025 self-titled debut, the record swaps solo-driven origins for a tight, collective push, channeling the obsessive 1970s studio precision of 10cc and Steely Dan into sharp, driving indie-pop.
Artist: Everyone Says Hi
Release Date: 2026-10-09
Genres: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Label: Chrysalis Records
Description: Nick Hodgson talks studio craft, Freddie Cowan’s guitar contribution, and Everyone Says Hi’s album 'Funny Cos It's True' out Oct 9 on Chrysalis.
On single “Life Isn’t Perfect,” former Vaccines guitarist Freddie Cowan added 35 guitar tracks post-mix, injecting a dry, angular bite that locks the song into a relentless, kinetic groove.
Lyrically, Hodgson hits fast and direct, targeting social media posturing and modern political absurdity alongside moments of quiet, personal grief. The band hits the road in October 2026 for a run of UK in-store dates and Brighton’s Mutations Festival on October 24th.
Featured image: © Stewart Baxter
It’s not a choice or something I like doing, I just do it and have done for all my life. Weird really.”
—Nick Hodgson
What sounds and artists inspired you before you began making music? What is it about making music that resonates with you?
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t make music in some form. I must have been 7 when I started. The only thing that inspired me then was TV and TV themes!
The second part of the question is a hard one to answer because music to me is like any other function that I do everyday. It’s not a choice or something I like doing, I just do it and have done it for all my life. Weird really.
How did the five of you actually find each other?
It’s a varied and quite honestly boring collection of random meet ups. I like the fact that I knew Pete in Leeds in the 90s but only connected properly when we’d see each other in the gym a few years ago. He just wanted to get involved in making music so we gave it a go. The best bit about everyone in the band is that they’re all so amazing at their instruments and then when we get going it sounds great. They’re also all very funny.
Where does the name Everyone Says Hi come from?
It was weird because I had the band name in a list of band names I’ve collected over the years but I wrote Everyone Say Hi. It was only later that I saw a Bowie song called Everyone Says Hi. I thought it was a good sign and changed it.
What drew you to Steely Dan, Michael McDonald and that whole world for this song?
It’s mainly to do with how much those musicians at the time worshiped the studio and because we’d set out to record the new album all in my own studio at my house I started really needing out about how everything sounded and trying to push myself. Those records sound so good, along with other 70s stuff like 10cc, it’s a good thing to aim at.
Because we’d set out to record the new album all in my own studio at my house I started really nerding out about how everything sounded and trying to push myself.”
—Nick Hodgson
Are there other influences on this band that aren’t as obvious from the outside?
I like musicals!
Is “I don’t need to hold a sign up” about something you were personally working through?
No, it’s just a comment about how everyone posts pictures of such boring stuff to show off, particularly food when it arrives at a restaurant. People’s breakfasts are the worst.
What brought the theme of fragility and life’s wisdom to the surface for this song?
I don’t know, my plans go out the window when I write a good song and lyrics just come along. Sometimes they surprise me and I have to figure out what’s they’re about after they’re written.
Is “Just Like That” a good preview of the record, or more of an outlier?
I guess it’s an outlier in a way but not too much. The common thread between all the songs is that it’s all the same people involved and recorded in the same place. That usually gives a record a consistent sound. Live this song stands out because of its groove. It’s very chilled and sexy.
What did you want to do differently on album two?
Sell more copies! The songs on the first album were more solo songs because that’s how the project actually began, the band came later. Also some of the songs were quite old and so there was an inconsistent nature to it. This is much more consistent.
Is there a throughline connecting the new songs, or is each one its own thing?
In terms of lyrical theme, not really. It’s all stuff I believe in whether it’s commentary on life or feelings that I have.
Freddie sent back about 35 tracks of guitar which was crazy and amazing. The result became some of my favourite moments on the album.”
—Nick Hodgson
Does anything outside music, art, politics, anything, shape how you write?
The biggest thing that influences how I write is how I’m feeling. I think I just put my feelings into music. By that I mean if I’m feeling very happy and energetic I’ll write something loud and riffy and upbeat. Then the same in reverse.
What does the rest of 2026 look like for the band?
Well I’ve had vocal surgery three weeks ago so it looks a bit different to how I’d like it to look. We have some gigs and tv and radio, just a case of figuring out how to make it as good as it can be. Sharing vocal duties I think!
How did Freddie Cowan sending over 35 guitar tracks after the song was mixed change the direction of ‘Life Isn’t Perfect’?
Ha, that was funny but great. Freddie is great and very enthusiastic so we get on. He definitely provided a sound that was missing in that song. Very Strokes-y.
The line ‘you get what you get and you don’t get upset’ came from your daughter’s nursery, how did that turn into a main-stage anthem?
That was just an inspiration for the lyrics, I don’t actually sing that. It’s a good mantra though.
Photos courtesy of Everyone Says Hi
Matteo Damiani is an Italian photographer and author. Curator of the sites Retrofuturista.com; weirditaly.com; china-underground.com and others
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