Anyone heard from Kneecap recently? They’ve been quiet of late. All sarcasm aside, once you factor in the noise generated by ruthless media scrutiny, court appearances and threats of censorship the Belfast trio have weathered over the past year, the one certainty driving ‘FENIAN’ is that they hardly had to look far for inspiration.
Addressing the stampede of elephants in the room, they waste no time with politically-charged triple header Smugglers & Scholars, Carnival and Palestine leading the charge. Never ones to mince their words, they taunt a system that could not silence them. Above all else, ‘FENIAN’ is a time capsule of the most turbulent months of Kneecap’s lives.
Initially, with the opening tracks interspersed with snippets of social commentary in a similar fashion to their breakout album ‘Fine Art’, there is a vague sense that we’re being treated to more of the same. But as the album unravels the band break apart our expectations time and time again.
‘FENIAN’ is larger and more nuanced than its predecessor as the trio shed the skin of scrappy underdogs on massive anthems Liars Tale, a withering takedown of UK prime minister Keir Starmer, and the title track. It’s raucous, it’s rebellious and it’s begging to be unleashed upon big crowds this summer.
If you’re not in a particularly rabble-rousing mood today, you can take in one of the more composed tracks such as Irish Goodbye, in which Moglai Bap delves fearlessly into the feelings surrounding the loss of his mother. Aided by Kae Tempest, it’s placed at the end of the album for good reason, serving as a reminder that Kneecap are some of the most poignant and unfiltered poets of our time.
Kneecap Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sat June 27 2026 - LONDON Crystal Palace Park
Mon July 06 2026 - CORK Live At The Marquee
Sun August 23 2026 - NORWICH Waterfront
Mon August 24 2026 - WREXHAM Live Rooms Wrexham
Tue August 25 2026 - TORQUAY Foundry - Torquay
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