London indie-pop stalwarts Spearmint are back, and they’re not just releasing another record. They’re unveiling a full-blown story. Their new album ‘Chase Me’, out 24 July 2026 via WIAIWYA Records, is a bold, ambitious concept piece that folds thriller, allegory and emotional resurrection into one of the band’s most imaginative works to date.
And it all begins with a dancefloor in 1986.
The first single, simply titled “1986”, landed on 5 June on digital platforms and as a limited, numbered 7-inch. It’s a warm, widescreen reflection on a pre-digital world — when Newcastle and Madrid could feel spiritually linked not by algorithms, but by the same song spinning in two different rooms.
The vinyl edition includes an exclusive B-side, “Is It Just Nostalgia?”, a time-travelling detour past The Tube, Soul Train and the neon-lit promise of Friday nights gone by. A second single is already lined up for July.
Spearmint have been quietly, consistently brilliant since their 1999 debut A Week Away, which gave us indie-pop staples like Sweeping The Nation, A Trip Into Space and We’re Going Out. Remarkably, the line-up remains unchanged:
Shirley Lee – vocals, guitar
Simon Calnan – vocals, keyboards
James Parsons – guitar
Ronan Larvor – drums
‘Chase Me’ marks their eleventh album proper and the 65th release on their own hitBACK label — a testament to their longevity, independence and refusal to fade into nostalgia.
Reuniting with producer Rhodri Marsden (Scritti Politti, Cardiacs), Spearmint have crafted an album that plays like a film you can only experience through headphones.
The narrative arcs across:
Three nocturnal chases through a city
Two out-of-body experiences
A journey from success to disillusionment, peril to rebirth
A final suite of uplifting love songs
Shirley Lee puts it best:
“The story would make a good movie… but we don’t know how to do that, so we did this”
It’s Spearmint at their most cinematic — a concept album that feels both intimate and widescreen.
‘Chase Me’ arrives on:
Digital platforms
Limited edition CD
Limited edition vinyl via WIAIWYA
The vinyl edition includes a 24‑page full‑colour lyric book with photos and illustrations — a proper artefact for fans who still love the physical experience of an album - Pre-orders and more info: spearmint.net
Spearmint will debut songs from ‘Chase Me’ plus deep cuts they haven’t played in years (and one they’ve never played).
29 September 2026 – Colours, Hoxton, London Tickets on sale NOW
Spearmint have always been a band who write about real life with warmth, wit and emotional clarity. With ‘Chase Me’, they’re stretching their storytelling further than ever, building a world, a narrative and a sense of cinematic scale that feels both nostalgic and sharply contemporary.
If 2023’s This Candle Is For You was a reminder of their craft, ‘Chase Me’ is the moment they turn that craft into something bigger, stranger and more ambitious.
