The Old Enemy began with a few songs and the willingness to start again.

Rooted in South Mississippi, the band took shape through writing sessions between Derek Pardoe, Victor Abendano, and collaborator Bob McCoin. As the songs developed, a lineup emerged: Pardoe on vocals and rhythm guitar, Chad Kent on drums, Abendano on bass, and Mason Howard on pedal steel.

For Pardoe and Kent, formerly of Atomship, it’s a new chapter in a longstanding musical partnership. Abendano helped build the project from its first writing sessions, while Howard brings a wide musical vocabulary shaped by his Louisiana roots and years of playing across the country. Together, they approach the material with different histories and a shared stake in what comes next.

The band’s identity grows from the meeting of those four players: the connection between voice and guitar, the conversation between bass and drums, and the possibilities pedal steel opens around them. The songs give that combination its purpose, leaving room for both intricate playing and the restraint to let a lyric stand on its own.

The Old Enemy carries its history into the room, then gets to work on something new.