Lauded quartet Lankum have shared a new single, 'The New York Trader', from their forthcoming album False Lankum - out at the end of this month.

The traditional folk song describes the plight of sailers seeking to escape their captain by overthrowing him, only to fight against the supernatural. Lankum learned the song from Dublin musician "and all roud legend" Luke Cheever.

"Our cruel captain, you do understand / Meant to starve us before we made the land / At length our hunger grew very great / We had but little on board to eat." The song was sung by Tony Rose as Sir William Gower in 1976 on his third album, On Banks of Green Willow.

“We started working on 'The New York Trader' in January 2021," Ian Lynch of Lankum says. "Someone who had done terrible things had found themselves in command of the ship and in order for the passengers and crew to save themselves it became necessary to throw the captain overboard into the deep, hopefully never to return. We did what was necessary, but now live in fear as the bloated corpse threatens to resurface, this time commanding an army of the dead.”

“We learned it, like so many other great songs, from Ringsend native and all round legend Luke Cheevers. It is one of a group of songs (sometimes referred to as the ‘Jonah Ballads’). The words to the song may be based on an older ballad called ‘The Pirate’ in which the destination was New Barbary rather than ‘Amerikay’. It was printed on broadsides in the UK where it was quite popular in the 19th century, and versions were subsequently collected in Wiltshire, Norfolk and Nova Scotia in the 20th century.”

The hugely anticipated False Lankum follows their 2019 breakthrough album The Livelong Day, which paved the way for critical and commercial success, earning them that year’s RTE Choice Music Prize and the #8 spot on NPR Music’s Best Albums of the Year list.

Drawing on traditional folk songs, Lankum put their own dark, distinctive mark onto each, leaning into heavy drones and sonic distortion that imparts new intensity and beauty into each track.

This record sees the band cement their breakout from the folk genre, creating bold, contemporary music that may be fashioned from traditional elements but is firmly new, sitting comfortably alongside Rough Trade labelmates like black midi and Gilla Band. False Lankum also features two original tracks, ‘Netta Perseus’ and ‘The Turn’, both penned by the group’s Daragh Lynch.

“We wanted to create more contrast on the record so the light parts would be almost spiritual and the dark parts would be incredibly dark, even horror inducing,” they explain. The album’s 12 tracks, composed of 10 traditional songs and two originals, show the four-piece using a new palate to colour their sound in an increasingly experimental way, alongside longtime producer John ‘Spud’ Murphy.

Following on from their much anticipated sell out show at The Barbican on 4th May 2023, Lankum will return to London in December 2023 to play The Roundhouse - their biggest headline gig to date.

With their April/May tour almost completely sold out, the band will return to Amsterdam and Berlin in November 2023 and will play their first German tour. They have also added another night to their sold out run at Vicar Street in Dublin. Full dates below.

Check out the incredible video for 'Go Dig My Grave'.

Forthcoming Tour Dates

APRIL
25th Apr - Silent Green, Berlin, Germany – sold out
28th Apr - Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, Netherlands– sold out
30th Apr - Le Botanique, Brussels, Belgium

MAY

2nd May - Petit Bain, Paris, France
4th May - London, Barbican, London, UK – sold out
10th May - St Lukes, Glasgow, UK – sold out
11th May - Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK – sold out
Fri 12th May - SWX, Bristol, UK – sold out
19th May - Mandela Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland – sold out
20th May - Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland – sold out
24th May - Cork Opera House, Cork, Ireland
29th May - Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland - new date
30th May - Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland – sold out
31st May - Vicar St, Dublin, Ireland – sold out

JUNE

28th Jun - Pop Messe, Brno, Czech Republic

AUGUST

4-6th Aug - All Together Now Festival, Co Waterford, Ireland
17-21st Aug - Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, UK

SEPTEMBER

1-3rd Sep - Supersonic Festival, Birmingham, UK

NOVEMBER

17th Nov - Manufaktur, Schorndorf, Germany
19th Nov - Transcentury Update Festival, Leipzig, Germany
22nd Nov - Lido, Berlin, Germany
23rd Nov - Stadtgarten, Köln, Germany
26th Nov - Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands

DECEMBER

13th Dec - The Roundhouse, London, UK