Beauty Sleep Unveil New Album ‘The Whole Damn Cake’
By OUT OCTOBER 17TH
“Dream-pop synths, fuzzy bass and delicate vocal lines” – Hot Press
“Beauty Sleep’s somnambulist sound has a gorgeous yet lo-fi aesthetic sense” – CLASH
“An infectious, glistening energy…will easily become your sound of the summer” – Get In Her Ears
“Far-reaching synth pop…it’s big music, big production, fun, vivid, melodic” – The Last Mixed Tape
“Dreamily melodic, boy/girl vocal-topped indiepop…excellent” – Irish News
“Upbeat, joyous and melodic dream pop music” – Nialler9
“We’re not the cherry on top — we’re the whole damn cake”: Derry radical alt-pop duo Beauty Sleep will release their highly anticipated second album, The Whole Damn Cake, on October 17th.
That statement, defiant and proud, encapsulates the ethos behind the dream-pop duo’s second LP. For partners in music and life, Cheylene Murphy and Ryan McGroarty, this record is more than a collection of songs. It’s a joyful rebellion. A love letter to self-worth. A dance party at the end of a long emotional tunnel. Above all, it’s the sound of two people reclaiming their space in a world that often tells people like them—too loud, too queer, too sensitive, too much—to shrink.
Beauty Sleep don’t shrink. Not anymore.
For those yet to be introduced to Beauty Sleep’s particular larger-than-life brand, the Derry duo, comprising producer/songwritersMurphy and McGroarty, serve up a maximalist blend of bewitching synth-pop and guitar-driven indie rock that’s sure to set your heart racing. Their lavish soundscapes and dizzying songwriting have drawn comparisons to New Order, St Vincent and Japanese Breakfast, so far achieving over a million streams and performing at festivals including SXSW, Electric Picnic and Other Voices.
To date, the band has seen sustained buzz from tastemakers in Ireland and the UK. including Hot Press, CLASH, The Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, Nialler9, Chordblossom, The Last Mixed Tape, Get In Her Ears, and many others, plus radio plays from Phil Taggart (BBC R1), Amy Lamé (BBC 6music), Stephen McCauley (BBC Radio Ulster/BBC Radio Foyle), and Dan Hegarty (RTE2fm).
The Whole Damn Cake is the culmination of years of growth, self-interrogation, radical joy-seeking and musical exploration. It’s bright, bold, and messy in the most human ways. It’s emotionally maximalist, teetering between existential spirals and euphoric abandon. And crucially, it’s theirs—written, produced, recorded and mixed largely by the duo in the self-built studio they affectionately call The Dream Factory.
“We went on a journey to find Radical Happiness for ourselves,” Cheylene explains. “That was our overarching goal when creating this album, in life and in art.”
The phrase The Whole Damn Cake started as a tongue-in-cheek response to the idea that people —especially women and members of the queer community—are often reduced to being the decorative “cherry on top.” “I liked the message of ‘I’m not the cherry on top, I’m the whole damn cake.’ And it just stuck,” says Cheylene. “Plus, then you’ve got to consume the album like a cake. Eat the album (please don’t eat the album).”
At the heart of the record is the duo’s commitment to ‘Radical Happiness’ – a term that arrived before the music and became the compass for the entire project. “Someone told me I was ‘dangerously positive’ and that stuck with me,” Cheylene recalls. “I liked the idea that my positivity could be dangerous… that it could enact change.”
But this wasn’t toxic optimism. When the journey began, both Cheylene and Ryan were at a low point. The pandemic amplified feelings of failure, confusion, and stagnation. In response, they decided to restructure their lives, to live the happiness they were seeking. Road trips. Time with friends. Marriage. Therapy. Painting. Dancing. Songwriting. Building a studio. They made the conscious decision to prioritize joy—not as an afterthought, but as a guiding principle.
The result is a record that balances heartfelt introspection with irreverent glitter. “We wanted to honour that concept of ‘Radical Happiness’ at every step,” says Cheylene. “The goal was to enjoy it. And we did. It was also super challenging. But we’re so proud of it.”
The album is structured like a journey, beginning with yearning and ending with celebration. Opener ‘Up For Air’ is a reverie—a moment of breath before diving into transformation. Then comes ‘You (You’re All I Wanted)’, a song that feels like both a message to their younger selves and a manifestation for the future. “It made us think of ourselves — the version of us touring our songs, creating music together in the studio, happy.”
By contrast, the final track ‘Take a Look Back’ returns to where the journey started, “an invitation to start again, because the journey is never over,” as Ryan puts it.
In between are songs that reflect their evolving emotions and experiences. There’s the cheeky confidence of ‘BIG + BAD’ , which earned RTÉ 2FM Track of the Week and Today FM Pick of the Week ((“It has taught us so much. That we are BIG + BAD. That our fans are. That being flirty and silly and sexy has great power.”), the emotional catharsis of ‘Send It Out to Sea’, and the ADHD-fuelled late-night pondering of ‘Am I Real?’, a song written during a spiral of pandemic-induced derealization. “I started to see wavy corners in real life,” Cheylene confesses. “I wrote that song in that state.”
‘We Don’t Talk About It’ is sexy, subversive, and celebratory, and that sex-positivity is key to the album’s joy. “We can only describe being young, queer, a woman and going to a Catholic school as traumatic when it comes to sex,” Cheylene admits. “Being so sexually liberated in our 30s is not what we thought would happen and it’s hella empowering in all aspects of our lives.”
Elsewhere, ‘Stars’ is a shimmering ode to neurodivergence. Inspired by Cheylene’s late diagnosis with ADHD and the deep connections she shares with similarly wired people, it uses the metaphor of stars—beautiful, burning, magnetic—to describe the bonds formed in shared intensity. “The connections I have to neurodiverse people are so profoundly deep, it is like we are all stars.”
Real-life experiences fuelled every corner of the album. ‘Big Sky’ was born on a beach after a life-affirming night at Primavera festival, watching the sunrise with friends after a night of dancing and emotional unburdening. ‘No Fever Ever Lasts’ is a middle finger to industry cynics. “Sometimes, you’re allowed to be annoyed at annoying things,” Ryan states plainly. “This is our anthem for proving people wrong.”
Cheylene calls ‘Keep Your Eyes Up’ and ‘Send It Out To Sea’ the emotional heart of the record. Written during a road trip through the Irish coast, the songs came fast, like spells cast into the wild air of Connemara. “They are the songs that are most likely to make me cry,” she says.
Much of The Whole Damn Cake was created in their own studio—a massive shift from their debut Be Kind, which was made in snatched late-night sessions. “Recording during the day (with coffee!) felt like we were legitimizing our own reality,” says Ryan. “It helped us treat our practice with the same reverence and respect we bring to other people’s projects.”
This DIY setup not only opened the floodgates for experimentation but also allowed them to fully step into their roles as producers. “We are equally songwriters and producers,” says Cheylene. “And that matters. I want it to be clear that this is my work.”
Together, they recorded nearly every element of the album themselves—all instruments (except drums, thanks to Ross Bickerstaff), vocals, production, mixing. “It’s amazing,” they say of their shared process. “We just vibe. We tag in and out. If someone has an idea, they jump in. If one of us peters out, the other takes over.”
There were, of course, moments of meltdown. The original version of ‘BIG + BAD’ sent them into a tailspin of self-doubt. “It felt like a mirror looking back at us saying ‘you don’t know what you’re doing.’” But after a few months away—and a life-changing binge of Troye Sivan music videos—they saw the album clearly again.
There were also illnesses, rescheduled sessions, and frustrations, but each challenge ultimately led to breakthroughs, including the decision to invest fully in building The Dream Factory. “Life with our studio feels like life in technicolour,” they say. “We love it.”
Beyond the music, the past few years were marked by massive personal milestones: Cheylene and Ryan got married, moved in together (with no housemates for the first time), and shared in the joy of friends tying the knot. “All of it fuelled us to fight for the life, the love we want,” they reflect.
So, who are Beauty Sleep now that they’ve found their Radical Happiness, and what comes the day after the album drops? “Silly, sexy weirdos who’s music makes you feel like you can do anything,” they answer with a grin. “Intergalactic hotties. A walk. A cry. A calm release. Connecting with fans,” says Cheylene of their future plans. “And then getting on with whatever project we’re working on.”
The Whole Damn Cake is proof that joy can be political, silliness can be sacred, and dancing can be a form of healing. It’s a record about embracing your “too much-ness,” making mistakes loudly, and living life like you’re the main character in a queer coming-of-age film with an outrageous synth-pop soundtrack.
It’s a cake, sure — but not one you put in a box. You eat it with your hands. You dance while you do it. You get icing on your face. And then you come back for seconds.
Live Dates
21/08/2025 – Hastings – Stade Hall (Queer Ass Folk Showcase) 20/11/2025 – Belfast – The Empire (album release show
Album Tracklist
01· Up For Air
02· You (You’re All I Wanted)
03· We Don’t Talk About It
04· BIG + BAD
05· Radical Happiness
06· Unfamiliar
07· No Fever Ever Lasts
08· Send It Out To Sea
09· Keep Your Eyes Up
10· Stars
11· Am I Real? DANCE
12· Big Sky
13· Take A Look Back