Manchester’s shadow-pop architects return with their most visceral album yet—and a UK tour to match.

Ten years in, IST IST are still building upward. The Manchester quartet—known for their brooding synths, post-punk pulse, and fiercely independent ethos—have announced their fifth studio album, DAGGER, due 6 February 2026 via their own Kind Violence Records. And if lead single “I Am The Fear” is anything to go by, this one cuts deep.

Written in the afterglow of their sold-out European tour, DAGGER channels the raw momentum of the road into a record primed for the stage. “You’re still in that live headspace,” says guitarist Mat Peters. “The music you write in those moments tends to be more visceral.” Bassist Andy Keating adds: “We wanted to make this record for ourselves first and foremost… It’s our most direct album since Architecture.”

“I Am The Fear” opens the album with stacked guitar tones, oscillating synths, and a bassline that feels like a seismic pulse. It’s a bold reintroduction—one that doesn’t abandon IST IST’s signature darkness, but refracts it through a sharper, more ambitious lens.

Produced by Joe Cross (Hurts, Courteeners), DAGGER spans ten tracks that shimmer with reinvention. From the pop immediacy of “Warning Signs” to the sci-fi shimmer of “Encouragement,” the album glows with melodic intent and post-tour adrenaline. There’s swagger (“Burning”), spaciousness (“Song For Someone”), and skyscraping synths (“The Echo”)—all stitched together with the band’s trademark intensity.

DAGGER is self-funded, self-released, and self-defined. It’s a testament to IST IST’s DIY backbone, forged in Manchester’s underground and carried across Europe’s stages. Their last album, Light A Bigger Fire, cracked the UK Top 30 and earned praise from Louder Than War’s John Robb as “glorious yet introspective 21st-century pop music.” Now, DAGGER aims higher.

IST IST UK & Europe Tour

Thursday 9th October - Rome - Invincible Fest @ Hacienda

Friday 10th October - Ravenna - Bronson Club

Saturday 11th October - Pordenone - Astro Club

Tuesday 14th October - Den Haag - Paard

Wednesday 15th October - Zwolle - Hedon

Friday 17th October - Eindhoven - Effenaar

Friday 28th November - Leeds - Warehouse

Saturday 29th November - Glasgow - Oran Mor

Friday 5th December - London - 229

Saturday 6th December - Birmingham - O2 Academy2

Friday 1st May 2026 - Manchester - Albert Hall w/ Support from DESPERATE JOURNALIST + THE YOUTH PLAY

Tickets available HERE

FOR MORE INFORMATION - https://www.ististmusic.com/