KNEECAP Share Single “Smugglers & Scholars” off ‘FENIAN’

Having recently announced details of their new album, FENIAN, out on Heavenly Recordings on April 24th, Belfast trio Kneecap have today shared “Smugglers & Scholars,” the latest track to be taken from the record following “Liars Tale.”

Premiered on Zane Lowe’s Apple 1 Music Show, “Smugglers & Scholars” smashes open the doors of the album. Coming in on a low-end three-note bass riff that sounds like it’s lifted from the kind of Detroit hip-hop record the band would have grown up listening to. It finds the band creating their own unique electricity over a steel-heavy pulse.

This is a sonic balaclava, loaded with menace and fearlessness. Introducing a sonic universe that tells us we’ve firmly entered the underbelly of the riotous confrontation, sneaking down the alleyways with artists at their peak. Welcome to Kneecap’s world. It’s not the Ireland you think you know: “Ya think it’s all poetry and clovers, when it’s raincoats and police Land Rovers. Salt of the earth, looking over their shoulder. Someone shot in turn, chopper hovering over.”

Talking about the track, Kneecap said:

“A track that’s reminiscing on Revolutionary times in Ireland, driven by a hopefulness, when the working class, academics and good people everywhere united and took action in search of a better future.”

More darkness. More confrontation. More craic. More energy. More solidarity. More absolute bangers. And more fuel for the unrelenting engine that powers this unstoppable force. For their remarkable second album, Kneecap have come out fighting. With their second album, FENIAN, Kneecap sharpen their sound and expand their vision, delivering a record that is darker, more confrontational, and more assured.

From the opening rallying cry for the Irish language on “Éire go Deo,” the album moves with relentless momentum, fusing fearless political commentary with hooks built for packed rooms and late-night chaos.

Tracks like “Smugglers & Scholars” and “Carnival” announce an album unafraid to challenge power, blending satire, menace, and irreverence into instantly memorable moments. FENIAN is at its most striking when it widens its lens, particularly on “Palestine (feat. Fawzi),” a powerful expression of transnational solidarity that places Kneecap’s work firmly within a global conversation about resistance and justice.

Musically, the album moves fluently between punk-rave, acid house, and hip-hop, with highlights including the riotous “Liars Tale,” the anthemic title track, and the frenetic “Big Bad Mo.” Elsewhere, Kneecap turn inward, tackling themes of masculinity, addiction, fame, and grief with sharp self-awareness and unexpected tenderness, culminating in the closing track “Irish Goodbye.”

The album is available on CD, cassette, DL, black vinyl, tricolor splatter vinyl, and exclusive editions via WhatsApp, Bandcamp and Rough Trade.

KNEECAP ‘FENIAN’ album artwork

Tour Dates:

May 29-30 – AVA, Belfast, IE
Jun 6 – Primavera, Barcelona, ES
Jun 8 – Santana 27, Bilbao, ES
Jun 9 – La Riviera, Madrid, ES
Jun 11 – Primavera, Porto, PT
Jun 13 – Festi’Neuch, Neuchatel, FR
Jun 15 – Magnolia, Unaltrofestival, Milan, IT
Jun 16 – Sequoie Music Park, Bologna, IT
Jun 17 – Cavea, Auditorium Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone, Rome IT
Jun 18 – Fiera del Levante, Bari, IT
Jun 20 – Terra Vibe Park, Rockwave, Attica, GR
Jun 24 – Allas Live, Helsinki, FIN
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 20 – KüçükÇiftlik Park, Istanbul, TR
Jul 30-Aug 2 – All Together Now, Waterford, IE
Aug 12-16 – Boomtown, Winchester, UK
Aug 28-30 – Reading & Leeds Festivals, UK
Nov 6 – Rockhal, Esch-Sur-Alzette, LU
Nov 9 – BK, Stockholm, SE
Nov 10 – Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, NO
Nov 20 – Le Zénith, Paris, FR