DECLAN WELSH AND THE DECADENT WEST are back. After time away writing their third record, the Glasgow band return this autumn with 25+ dates across the UK and Europe, from Saint Luke’s in their hometown to Berlin’s Badehaus, London’s The Grace to Madrid’s Sala Sol, in support of new album Explicit Agitation, out September 2026. The record is their most ambitious yet: a furious, clear-eyed document of the present moment that refuses to look away. From deindustrialised towns hollowed out by decades of neglect, to the death toll in Gaza counted out in verse, to a withering monologue delivered from inside the mind of a ruling-class villain. But Explicit Agitation is also their most complete record: alongside the politics sits love, loneliness, lost faith, and a searching self-awareness about what protest art is actually for. Recorded with Chris Marshall at Castle of Doom Studios, who produced their debut, the album’s title signals intent. The music delivers on it. Fronted by singer-songwriter Declan Welsh, the band now features a rotating cast of friends and musicians alongside longtime bassist Ben Corlett, and they have built their reputation through ferocious live performances and writing that punches as hard as it moves. Their debut album Cheaply Bought, Expensively Sold earned a Scottish Album of the Year shortlist; their second established them as an essential voice and live act. They’ve headlined the Barrowland Ballroom twice, topped the bill at Tenement Trail, and played the main stage at TRNSMT, alongside appearances at Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Reeperbahn. The band are delighted to reschedule dates originally due to take place in spring 2025, and their recent appearance at Scotland’s Resonate conference was proof, if any were needed, that the electric live show is very much intact. Their track “Hardly News” was featured in Universal’s 2025 film Drop. 16 million streams, 4.5 million on “Absurd” alone, BBC Radio 1 Intro Track of the We