Fenian (album)

Following the release of the mixtape 3CAG (2018), Kneecap (consisting of Móglaí Bap, Mo Chara, and DJ Próvaí) released their debut studio album, Fine Art, in 2024.^[8][9] That same year, they released a self-titled biopic, which went on to win a BAFTA Award in the category of Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.^[8] Since the release of Fine Art, the trio have released a handful of standalone singles; however, none of them are included on the track listing of Fenian.^[8][6] In 2025, Kneecap lost their U.S. visa sponsor following anti-Israeli messages about the Gaza genocide displayed onstage during their set at Coachella in April. The group had to cancel a North American tour and decided to spend time in the studio to "reinvent their public image".^[10][11]

Principal work on Fenian began in September 2025 at the same time as Mo Chara was dealing with a terrorism-related charge for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag onstage, in a case which was later dismissed.^[10] The case would serve as one of the main influences for the album.^[14] The trio worked on Fenian with producer Dan Carey, who Mo Chara met via Grian Chatten;^[15] Kneecap had previously finished a follow-up to Fine Art with a different producer in early 2025, but this was scrapped after they were dissatisfied with their output sounding too similar to their debut album.^[10][16][17] The group sought Carey's help to create an album that was "more mature and musical",^[10][18] and to arrange the songs to be more suitable to play in an arena setting.^[14] Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap lived in Streatham, in South London, for seven weeks to work with Carey while DJ Próvaí stayed in Ireland.^[16] During this time, Móglaí Bap came up with lyrics to songs like "Cold at the Top" and "Cocaine Hill" while spending around an hour a day in a bathtub.^[19] In the studio, Carey mainly used analogue synthesisers and other analogue instruments,^[19][14] with many songs being written and produced at the same time.^[20]

Two songs on Fenian ("Occupied 6" and "Gael Phonics") came from the scrapped album, while the rest were cut.^[17] For "Palestine", the group felt it was important to include the perspective of Palestinians, so they reached out to Ramallah-based rapper Fawzi through mutual connections, providing him with a rough idea of what they envisioned.^[21][22] "Cocaine Hill" was a previously unfinished song that ended up being one of the last songs completed on the album.^[21]

The album's name comes from a word that is used for warriors from medieval Ireland and later repurposed to refer to modern-day revolutionaries fighting for Irish republicanism; it is also used as a slur for Irish Catholics.^[23][10][16] According to Mo Chara, selecting the word as the album title was a way for the group to reclaim their language and heritage.^[21]

The album's sound has been described as "old-school gangsta rap mixed with the monster-truck onslaught of peak Prodigy",^[24] with influences of grime, post-punk, techno,^[25] and West Coast hip-hop.^[26] DJ Próvaí confirmed that the Prodigy were an influence, as well as the 1990s UK rave scene in general, which he credited with helping to unite people in Northern Ireland.^[14] Mo Chara's court case and Kneecap's large-scale concert at Wembley Arena also served as influences for the album.^[27] The lyrics of Fenian are in a mixture of English and Irish, with "Palestine" containing verses in Arabic by Palestinian rapper Fawzi.^[28][29][30] The album is divided into two thematic parts: one focused on the band's private lives and one on the public.^[14]

Fenian opens with "Éire go Deo" (transl. "Ireland forever"), a song about the Irish language, whose sound has been described as chillstep, acid house and "trip-hop Enya".^[24][30][31] "Smugglers & Scholars", which is inspired by the sound of Detroit hip-hop, reflects on the Irish revolutionary period; its title is a play on "land of saints and scholars", an epithet used to describe Ireland.^[32][33] The media circus surrounding Mo Chara's court case is addressed in "Carnival", which features a beat in the style of Massive Attack.^[24][30] It incorporates a "Free Mo Chara" chant that Carey recorded from crowds outside the courthouse.^[14] "Palestine" discusses generational trauma and the war in Gaza,^[30] comparing the settler colonialism of Ireland and in Palestine.^[34][35] The Gaza war is also referenced in "Liars Tale", which has lyrics directly calling out British prime minister Keir Starmer and his position on the conflict while also describing the situation as a genocide.^[36][37] The song incorporates elements of industrial music while "Big Mad Mo" is an acid techno and electro track.^[38][39]

"Headcase" is a drum and bass song about an addict,^[29] while "An Ra" envisions an end to British rule in Ireland, with RA standing for Ríocht Aontaithe (transl. "United Kingdom").^[10][40] "Occupied 6" is about paramilitary attacks during the Troubles, with its title referring to the six counties that make up Northern Ireland.^[41][42] "Gael Phonics" is an explanation of different words in Irish.^[17][28] "Cocaine Hill", featuring long-time collaborator Radie Peat, is a song about the dark side of fame and is accompanied by prog guitars in the style of Pink Floyd.^[24][30] It is based on the blues song "Cocaine Blues", popularised by Reverend Gary Davis, and samples John Martyn's version titled "Cocain".^[43] The album closer, "Irish Goodbye", was written as a tribute to Móglaí Bap's mother, who died by suicide in 2020 after suffering from depression.^[10][16]

On 22 January 2026, mobile digital billboards began appearing in Belfast, with a phone number being promoted to 'report fenian activity'.^[44] The band later posted a teaser promoting a new single titled "Liars Tale".^[45] The link between the billboards and the band was confirmed on 27 January, when another teaser was released, featuring phone calls to the number advertised on the billboards.^[46] The following day, the band announced Fenian would be released on 24 April 2026, on the 110th anniversary of the Easter Rising.^[47][48][6] The release date was later delayed by one week.^[49][50]

"Liars Tale", the album's lead single, premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 28 January 2026.^[51] Featuring the three group members in guillotines, its music video was directed by Thomas James, who said he wanted to "embody the 2 + 2 = 5 hellscape we seem to be surrounded by".^[36][37] The song debuted at number 79 on the Irish Singles Chart.^[52] Premiering on Apple Music 1, "Smugglers & Scholars" was released as the second single on 24 February.^[32] The title track was released as the third single on 1 April, and was accompanied by a music video shot in western Belfast and also directed by James.^[3] "Irish Goodbye", featuring Kae Tempest, was released as a single on 28 April.^[53] It was accompanied by a 12-minute short film starring actors Liam Cunningham and Deirdre O'Kane.^[54][55]

Songs from Fenian were first performed at the album's launch party on 20 April at Limelight in Belfast.^[56] A series of outstore shows were planned for the album's release week,^[37] as well as a number of listening parties across Ireland, England, and Scotland on 27 April, with the album played in its entirety.^[57] In February 2026, Kneecap announced fourteen European dates for the Fenian Tour, which is scheduled to start on 8 June in Bilbao, Spain.^[58] On 5 May 2026, Kneecap digitally released a deluxe version of the album with two remixes: a Killer Mike remix of "Smugglers & Scholars" and a 3D remix of "Palestine".^[59]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.8/10[60]
Metacritic	82/100[61]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	7/10[62]
Financial Times	[29]
The Independent	[63]
The Irish Times	[24]
Mojo	[42]
MusicOMH	[64]
NME	[65]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[66]
Rolling Stone	[1]
The Times	[39]

Close

Fenian received positive reviews from critics,^[67][68] with the album receiving praise for being a serious follow-up to Fine Art.^{[29][63][39][30]} According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Fenian received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 82 out of 100 from fourteen critic scores.^[61] The review aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave the album a weighted average score of 7.8 out of 10 from nineteen critic scores.^[60]

In a five-star review, Ed Power of The Irish Times called Fenian a "stunning record" that is "brilliantly catchy and playful".^[24] Ellie Carr of The List and Daniel Dylan Wray of Uncut both praised Kneecap's musical maturity, with the former calling the album "faultlessly produced" and the latter calling it "accomplished".^[30][38] Simon Price of Record Collector opined that the trio sounded "better than ever", and praised the Fawzi collaboration "Palestine".^[69]

Reviewers complimented Carey's production,^{[63][64][66][70][71]} as well as the mixture of genres on the album.^[65][64] "Irish Goodbye" was highlighted as a standout track,^{[63][64][26][72]} with Alexis Petridis of The Guardian calling it "a skilfully done conclusion".^[70] Criticism among reviews took aim at certain lyrics that were deemed ineffective or absurd,^[1][39][73] and the band's humour that was regarded at times as annoying or immature.^[62][74]

Fenian debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.^[75] The album had been the frontrunner to top the overall chart according to mid-week projections by the Official Charts Company,^[76] although it was ultimately beaten by the compilation The Essential Michael Jackson.^[75] According to figures from Music Week, the album sold 23,983 units in its first week.^[77]

In Ireland, the album debuted at number one on the Irish Albums Chart as well as the Independent Albums Chart.^[78] Kneecap charted in Australia for the first time, with Fenian debuting at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart.^[79]

Credits are adapted from Tidal.^[83]