Theo Kandel Releases Sophomore Album A HORSE NAMED FRIDAY
The record was recorded at Brooklyn's Grand Street Recording and features singles The Station and Mourning Dove.
New York–based singer-songwriter Theo Kandel has released his sophomore full-length album, A Horse Named Friday, out now via Nettwerk Music Group. Crafted in the wake of profound personal grief and life shifts, the collection stands as Kandel's most ambitious, introspective, and sonically expansive body of work to date.
Where his acclaimed 2024 debut LP, Eating & Drinking & Being in Love, celebrated life's quiet, subtle, and often uncelebrated moments, A Horse Named Friday fearlessly widens the lens to explore life's extremes. Written following the sudden loss of two close childhood friends within a single year, Kandel translates complex emotional juxtapositions, grief, joy, anger, anxiety, and humor into a cohesive narrative hero's journey.
'I realized much of this new album was either informed by the really low lows or the really high highs of life,' Kandel reflects. 'But happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety – all of these emotions are ultimately fleeting. It's a comforting thing to understand you're always moving forward, even if it doesn't feel like it. By sharing my own journey, I believe I was able to do right by my friends who are no longer here.'
Recorded throughout 2025 across Grand Street Recording in Brooklyn and Kandel's bedroom setup, A Horse Named Friday weaves together fingerstyle acoustic guitar, banjo, pedal steel, sweeping strings, and warm 1970s-inspired piano arrangements.
The album features previously released singles 'The Station,' a buoyant, Simon & Garfunkel-inspired track capturing the chaos and fun of a night out with friends, the gentle finger-picked 'Mourning Dove', and lead herald track 'Right This Time.' Additional key tracks include 'About Dreams,' a dreamy 70s-style duet with songstress Jackie Evans confronting modern existential burnout, the tongue-in-cheek fictional narrative '7–10 Split', and the soaring falsetto-driven 'Ghost Lives.' Title track and opener 'A Horse Named Friday' grounds the project in timeless folk tradition, drawing on the classic motif of stepping into the river and returning from a quest forever changed.
A Horse Named Friday is available now on all streaming platforms.
Tracklist
A Horse Named Friday
She's Mad, She's Magic
Right This Time
7-10 Split
The Station
Ghost Lives
Mourning Dove
A Little Weird (A Little High)
About Dreams
Whisper Music
Sadness Is A Sine Wave
About Theo Kandel
Theo Kandel manages to slow life down just long enough to write songs about it. With his quick wit, fingerstyle acoustic guitar, and sharp narrative instincts, the New York-based singer-songwriter has patiently built a dedicated global audience while earning cosigns from some of the folk and indie scene's most compelling rising talent.
Following a series of acclaimed EPs, his celebrated 2024 debut album Eating & Drinking & Being in Love, and his newest release A Horse Named Friday, Kandel has established a signature style defined by striking emotional contrasts. On the road, he has shared the stage with notable acts including Rayland Baxter, Evan Honer, Jordy Searcy, Briscoe, Max McNown, and The Script. Signed to Nettwerk Music Group, Kandel continues to elevate his genre-bending folk-rock sound with deeply personal, storytelling-driven songwriting.
Photo Credit: Kate Mahoney
Photo Credit: Kate Mahoney
