KNEECAP – Liars Tale
Belfast rap trio KNEECAP have announced their second album FENIAN, dropping April 24, 2026 via Heavenly Recordings—exactly 110 years after the Easter Rising. Lead single “Liars Tale” is a riotous rave-punk attack on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, built on an 80s rock stomp riff and strobing synths with furious bars in Irish and English. The band calls him a “scumbag” and “Netanyahu’s bitch,” describing him as a Tory “in Labour clothing.”
Produced by Dan Carey (Fontaines DC, Wet Leg, Shame) at his South London studio, the album features contributions from Kae Tempest, Fawzi, and Radie Peat. It’s a deliberate response to the chaos of 2025—Mo Chara facing terrorism charges (later dropped), festival cancellations, a scrapped North American tour, and direct political attacks from the Prime Minister’s office. “This isn’t a swift reaction, but a considered response to those that tried to silence us. And failed,” the trio says.
The album title reclaims “Fenian,” originally warriors in Irish folklore, later weaponized as a slur. “Now we’re using it to name everyone speaking truth to power,” they explain. The release date marks the start of the 1916 Easter Rising, the first armed conflict in Ireland’s fight for independence.
Director Thomas James describes the “Liars Tale” video as “punk, absurd, abrasive and wild. An ugly reflection of the world we find ourselves in; utter fucking chaos.” The nightmarish visual features paparazzi confrontations, chain-link fences under strobe lights, and Margaret Thatcher as a zombie—”a carnival of distraction” embodying modern hell-scape politics.
Following 2024’s Fine Art and their BAFTA and Sundance-winning biopic, KNEECAP made headlines with their Glastonbury and Coachella sets advocating for Palestinian freedom. Last year they released standalone singles “The Recap,” “Sayōnara” (with Orbital’s Paul Hartnoll), and “No Comment” (featuring Sub Focus)—none of which appear on FENIAN.
Tracklist:
- Éire go Deo
- Smugglers & Scholars
- Carnival
- Palestine (ft. Fawzi)
- Liars Tale
- FENIAN
- Big Bad Mo
- Headcase
- An Ra
- Cold At The Top
- Occupied 6
- Gael Phonics
- Cocaine Hill (ft. Radie Peat)
- Irish Goodbye (ft. Kae Tempest)
Europe:
- May 29-30 – AVA Festival, Belfast, IE
- Jun 6 – Primavera Sound, Barcelona, ES
- Jun 11 – Primavera Sound, Porto, PT
- Jun 13 – Festi’Neuch, Neuchâtel, FR
- Jun 27 – Crystal Palace Park, London, UK
- Jul 1 – Open’er Festival, Gdynia, PL
- Jul 2 – Roskilde Festival, Roskilde, DK
- Jul 4 – Rock Werchter, Werchter, BE
- Jul 18 – PhilGood Festival, Plovdiv, BG
- Jul 21 – All Together Now, Waterford, IE
- Aug 12-16 – Boomtown, Winchester, UK
- Aug 28-30 – Reading & Leeds Festivals, UK
