London’s The Hanging Stars return with their sixth album, Just A Day, which is due out on Loose on 19 June – it promises to be a collection of four-part harmonies, twelve-string guitars and chiming songs, touching on themes of longing, new beginnings and the fragility of the everyday. Recorded at Edwyn Collins’ Clashnarrow Studios in the Scottish Highlands, the album marks a new chapter for the band, produced by Teenage Fanclub’s Gerard Love and Dexy’s Sean Read. The band has also announced an extensive tour (see full dates below).
As well as all of this news, they have also released the single The Glasshouse accompanied by a video directed by Welsh film director Kieran Evans. The track blends twelve-string jangle with the bristling 70s New York sounds of The Feelies and Television. It is a commentary on the current trend of greed being seen as something righteous. Frontman and songwriter Richard Olson explains, “wealth can’t buy you class or taste. The light will always shine through the cracks… The Hanging Stars will always stand for solidarity and empathy.” The single also features a B-side, Maybe Maybe, an outtake from the recording sessions featuring a Motown-style spoken word section from Nick Power of The Coral.
Just A Day is the band’s third album, recorded at Clashnarrow — owned and run by Edwyn Collins and Grace Maxwell, and described by the band as “a sort of mixture between Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and the BBC’s Repair Shop.” Their connection with Collins extends beyond just using his studio, as guitarist Patrick Ralla plays in his band, and The Hanging Stars were invited to support his 2025 Testimonial Tour – A Last Lap Around The UK, with shows at the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Theatre Royal in Glasgow. Last year also saw them receive widespread acclaim for their collaborative album, Dreams, with folk legend Bonnie Dobson, with whom they’ll be appearing at End of the Road Festival later this summer.
A line-up change at the end of 2024 proved galvanising. “We needed to rethink things,” says Patrick Ralla. “A new leaner approach – bass, drums, guitars, four-part harmonies. Certainly worked for The Byrds, Big Star, and Teenage Fanclub.” Central to that new direction was producer Gerard Love, one-third of Teenage Fanclub’s celebrated songwriting trio, who helped the band strip things back to their essence, joining them for a week of recording and contributing vocals, arrangements, and, by all accounts, a mean vegan curry.
The result promises to be an energising record of catchy hooks and renewed vision, engineered and co-produced by longtime collaborator Sean Read. The album features the core line-up of Richard Olson (vocals, guitar), Patrick Ralla (guitar), Paul Milne (bass) and Paulie Cobra (drums), his last recording before he embarks on a prolonged sabbatical; his live replacement is Charlie Salvidge (TOY, Proper Ornaments, Great Silkie), who will join the band on their forthcoming tours.
The album can be preordered from this link.
Just A Day tracklisting:
All Your Yesterdays
The Glasshouse
Sister of the Sun
Think I’ll Be Alright
Let It Slide
(Keep On) Making Me Wait
Big Red Car
Time Is Nothing
Run Run Run
Show Me The Way
My Lucky Charm
Just A Day
The Hanging Stars 2026 UK Tour Dates:
22-05-2026 Leek – Leek Arts Festival
11-06-2026 London – Third Man Records
29-08-2026 Stanford Hall – The Long Road Festival
04-09-2026 Sheffield – Yellow Arch
07-10-2026 Ipswich – The Church
08-10-2026 Hull – The New Adelphi
09-10-2026 Newcastle – The Cluny 2
10-10-2026 Glasgow – Mono
11-10-2026 Manchester – Night & Day Café
23-10-2026 St. Leonards – The Piper
24-10-2026 Brighton – The Brunswick
31-10-2026 Dorking – St Mary’s Church
05-11-2026 Darlington – The Forum
06-11-2026 Nottingham – The Old Cold Store
07-11-2026 Norwich – Norwich Arts Centre
13-11-2026 London – St Mathias Church
15-11-2026 Portsmouth – The Wedgewood Rooms
