Hot Chip have announced their ninth studio album, A Long Way From Kansas, set to arrive on January 8th, 2027, via Domino. To accompany the news, the British electronic outfit have shared its lead single “Random Violence” along with a music video. Watch it below.
The band confronts political unrest, violence, and an increasingly bleak world with a more distorted and punk-influenced sound on the upcoming project. Taking its title from The Wizard of Oz, the 11-track LP explores the search for belonging and stability amid chaos. Recorded at Joe Goddard and Al Doyle’s Relax and Enjoy studio in East London, it features guest appearances from Beth Ditto and Eddie Chacon.
“A Long Way From Kansas reflects the general sense that the world we live in — the world we were making our record in — is particularly harsh, discordant, violent and depressing,” frontman Alexis Taylor explained in a statement. “Maybe none of that’s new, and that doesn’t mean that every song is talking about the world and politics and genocide, but it was an unavoidable backdrop while making the music.”
“Random Violence” pays tribute to the late Keith McIvor, better known as JD Twitch of the Scottish DJ duo Optimo. Contrasting Goddard and Taylor’s vocals, the song juxtaposes violence with acts of kindness to reflect the positivity and human connection McIvor inspired through his work.
“Last year in September our old friend and brilliant DJ Keith McIvor of Optimo in Glasgow passed away after a diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour a few months earlier,” Goddard said. “He largely inspired the words of the song. He was a passionate music lover and a staunch believer in socialism. Many of the words relate directly to his death and to memories of being in Sub Club in Glasgow where we met 20 years ago.”
Directed by Jack Cole, the accompanying video features the morris dancing group Boss Morris in a celebration of remembrance and resistance inspired by Optimo’s Halloween parties at Glasgow’s Sub Club.
A Long Way From Kansas follows Hot Chip’s 2022 album Freakout/Release. Earlier this year, the band appeared alongside Oscar Isaac in the second season of Netflix’s Beef and celebrated the 20th anniversary of their sophomore album, The Warning.
Hot Chip will also embark on a UK and European tour in February 2027, with stops in Berlin, Paris, Dublin, Glasgow, and London. Ahead of the tour, the band will DJ at Glasgow’s Sub Club on October 21st in honor of McIvor. Check out their itinerary below, and look for deals and tickets to sold-out shows here (you can save $20 on your first order of $200 or more with promo code COS20 at checkout).
A Long Way From Kansas Tracklist:
1. Stuck Around
2. Waiting Around
3. Random Violence
4. The Mask Is Slipping
5. Splinter
6. Shortcut To Love
7. Me In Your Head (feat. Beth Ditto)
8. Hook Me Up
9. Secular Hymns
10. The Garden (feat. Eddie Chacon)
11. Crushing
Hot Chip 2027 Tour Dates:
02/26 – Berlin, DE @ Astra
02/28 – Brussels, BE @ La Madeleine
03/01 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
03/02 – Paris, FR @ Le Bataclan
03/04 – Dublin, IE @ 3Olympia
03/06 – Leeds, UK @ Leeds Beckett Students’ Union
03/07 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Galvanizers
03/08 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
03/09 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute 1
03/10 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
03/12 – London, UK @ Exhibition White City