The sixth studio album, eleven years in the making, is a love letter to her Irish heritage, out January 22nd 2027 on Kill Rock Stars, ahead of Irish shows this October and next February
Kate Nash has announced her sixth studio album, Cailín, out Friday January 22nd 2027 via Kill Rock Stars, alongside new single ‘Spilt Milk’.
It’s the album Nash been building toward covering for a while now, following her cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Famine’ and a podcast conversation where she spoke at length about Sinéad O’Connor, her Irish heritage, and kicking against the music industry.
Eleven years in the making, Cailín was produced by KoOoLkOjAk and recorded on the west coast of Ireland at Stiúideo Cuan, under the eye of trad musician Charlie Lennon. It’s a raw, raucous record that combines traditional Irish sounds with punk energy and touches of hip hop production, built as a genuine love letter to Nash’s Irish heritage.
She holds dual nationality, her mother born in Dublin, and grew up in an Irish community in North Harrow, spending summers with her mother’s family in Ireland where she says music felt woven naturally into everyday life. The album takes in family, forgiveness, love, colonialism, inequality, religion and internalised shame, drawing on Irish folklore and mythology throughout.
♡ Nialler9 is independent and reader-supported. Support us on Patreon →
‘Split Milk’ is a bit of a beast of a tune:
“All my earliest musical memories were in Ireland: live music in the pub, going to Sharon Shannon gigs, seeing the best accordion player you’ve ever seen and it’s a bored-looking eight-year-old boy in a puffer jacket,” Nash says. “There’s a natural respect for musicians as it’s embedded into the fabric of everyday life.”
‘Spilt Milk’, takes on the erosion of reproductive rights for women and minority groups. “Spilt Milk was initially written about abortion law in Ireland before they repealed the 8th,” Nash explains. “It’s about not having control over your own body, not being listened to and feeling like the powers that be are getting bigger, scarier and more crushing. With the overturning of Roe v Wade and women’s sexual health rights being rolled back in the US, this song feels pertinent to today.” The video was directed by Tom Beard.
The single follows Nash’s cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Famine’ earlier this year, which also appears on Cailín and calls on listeners to educate themselves on Britain’s role in An Gorta Mór. Nash, who is English, has spoken openly about spending significant time researching her Irish roots for the record, something she touched on in our podcast conversation with her. “The English don’t know their history. I’m English too, I’m saying, this has not been taught to me. We have ignorance and we need to understand things, to give ourselves context.”
The record leans into the spontaneous feel of a pub session, with Uilleann pipes, fiddles, flutes, bodhrán, harp and banjo throughout. Contributors include Niamh Dunne, Lottie Cullen and BIIRD’s Lisa Canny, with Nash herself playing tin whistle, the first instrument she ever learned.
Cailín tracklist:
- I Guess I Never Learnt A Thing
- Cailín
- Freedom of Me
- Famine
- Spilt Milk
- Wild Atlantic Way
- Crying
- Irish Saints
- Póg Mo Thóin
- Lady Gregory
- Pay Up
- Christmas Eve
It’s been a big year for Nash on this side of the water. She was added to the All Together Now 2026 lineup back in the spring, announced a run of Irish dates that sold out immediately, and plays Other Voices Derry on September 25th and 26th, marking the start of the festival’s 25th anniversary year. She returns for a fuller Irish run in February 2027.
Irish tour dates:
- Friday September 25th – Derry – Other Voices
- Saturday October 4th – Cork – Coughlan’s (sold out)
- Sunday October 5th – Kilkenny – Cleere’s (sold out)
- Monday October 6th – Dublin – Ruby Sessions (sold out)
- Monday February 8th, 2027 – Cork – Cyprus Avenue
- Wednesday February 10th, 2027 – Limerick – Dolan’s
- Thursday February 11th, 2027 – Galway – Róisín Dubh
- Saturday February 13th, 2027 – Dublin – Button Factory
- Sunday February 14th, 2027 – Belfast – Mandela Hall
Cailín is available to pre-order/pre-save now.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
