Kneecap: Fenian review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week

Source: The Guardian Link: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/may/01/kneecap-fenian-review-first-album-since-dismissed-terror-charge-is-terrific-triumphant-yet-tortured Published: May 01, 2026 Keywords: Canada (Heavenly) With strong words for Keir Starmer, the Irish rave-rap trio remain unbowed by the controversy around them – and yet this is a more ruminative record than you might expect Five tracks into Fenian, the listener is confronted by the sound of rapper Móglaí Bap expressing a desire to go and live off-grid outside a small village in County Meath. He does this in characteristic style – prefaced with the line “run along, fuck’s sake, I’m sick of you cunts” – but still, it comes as a surprise. After all, the tales of drugged-out madness on Kneecap’s previous album, 2024’s Fine Art , took place in an exclusively urban environment: at one juncture Móglaí Bap’s bandmate Mo Chara claimed that his preferred milieu was “the snug of a dimly-lit, shit, run-down pub”, presumably one like the lairy Belfast boozer in which much of the album was set. Nothing about Kneecap has given the impression of a band given to wistfully pining after a simple bucolic life. And yet, who can blame him for wanting to switch off and get away from it all? The two years since Fine Art’s release have been tumultuous for the Irish rave-rap trio, and it’s difficult to discern how much their soaring profile has to do with their music. Fine Art was warmly received – it was potent, funny and original – but quickly drowned out by the din of controversy that began when Mo Chara was alleged to have displayed a Hezbollah flag on stage at a London gig in November 2024. He was later charged with terror offences, whi --- This article was automatically collected by the Observatory News Scraper.