will release new album ‘A Long Way From Kansas’ on January 8th.

The band toasted 20 years of their seminal album ‘The Warning’ earlier in 2026, while revealing plans for new material in the process.

Lifting its name from Dorothy’s statement in the Wizard Of Oz, new album ‘A Long Way From Kansas’ suggests a group attempting to find their way home.

Singer Alexis Taylor comments: “A Long Way From Kansas reflects the general sense that the world we live in — the world we were making our record in — is particularly harsh, discordant, violent and depressing. Maybe none of that’s new, and that doesn’t mean that every song is talking about the world and politics and genocide, but it was an unavoidable backdrop while making the music. Distortion came to be a bit of a watchword for the whole record.”

New single ‘Random Violence’ is out now, and it’s a touching tribute to Optimo’s Keith McIvor, who died last year. A close friend of the group, the lyrics pay homage with Joe Goddard opining: “And your friends will tell their stories / About a man who spent his life / Sending songs out into the world / Tall ships in the wind…”

says: “Last year in September our old friend and brilliant DJ Keith McIvor of Optimo in Glasgow passed away after a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour a few months earlier. He largely inspired the words of the song.  He was a passionate music lover and a staunch believer in socialism.  Many of the words relate directly to his death and to memories of being in Sub Club in Glasgow where we met 20 years ago.”

directs the video, which features the all-female progressive morris dancing side  – a celebration of life’s riches, resistance, and dance-as-ritual, there’s also a nod to Optimo in there, too.

The band’s Al Doyle breaks it down: “We invited some woodland spirits, cursed animals and crazed dancers to join us in a celebration of humanity, remembrance and resistance. The genesis of the idea came from the Optimo Espookio Halloween parties we experienced at Sub Club and we wanted to capture that feeling in the video. It was exactly as much fun as it looks, which is to say we had an absolute blast.”

Tune in now.

Pre-order ‘A Long Way From Kansas’ now.

Tracklisting:
1.         Stuck Around 
2.         Waiting Around 
3.         Random Violence 
4.         The Mask Is Slipping 
5.         Splinter 
6.         Shortcut To Love 
7.         Me In Your Head (feat. Beth Ditto) 
8.         Hook Me Up 
9.         Secular Hymns 
10.       The Garden (feat. Eddie Chacon) 
11.        Crushing