The Guest List have announced debut album ‘Something Real’, which aims to capture “something meaningful” in a tumultuous world. Check out the tranquil lead single ‘You Should Care’ below, as well as new tour dates.
The announcement comes following the Manchester five-piece gaining momentum over the past 18 months –dropping their debut EP ‘When The Lights Are Out’ last year, touring with Blossoms and Inhaler, and embarking on a UK headline tour at the start of 2026.
Now, they have confirmed their highly anticipated debut album and described it as both capturing feelings of confusion and doubt, but also seeking moments of hope.
‘Something Real’ is set for release on August 28 (pre-order it here), and today (Friday May 1) the band have also dropped the new tender single, ‘You Should Care’.
“White space/ There’s a numbness like a wall between us/ There’s a truth you can’t face/ A hand you won’t fold,” frontman Cai Alty croons in the opening verse, backed by a steady, atmospheric guitar riff.
The instrumentals then start to gradually build, until the song reaches its heartfelt chorus: “You should care that I care/And when those strangers make you smile/ Do I come near/ Or do you lose me for a minute/ And there’s nothing left”.
‘Something Real’ was recorded in Norway with collaborator Matias Tellez and produced in-part by The Coral’s James Skelly. Across the 12 songs, The Guest List balance weighty themes of mental health, climate change and domestic violence with moments of vulnerability and resilience.
“The album is basically us saying, ‘we’re young, we’re confused just like you – how did we get here?’,” the frontman explained. “It’s about trying to find something meaningful in a world that often feels overwhelming.”
It will also feature the single ‘Something Real’, which dropped in February and saw the band take aim at “trolls, comment bots, algorithms and whistleblowers”.
Last month saw the Manchester indie stars complete a run of dates around the UK, and today they have confirmed their biggest tour to date, which will begin this November.
Dates follow on from appearances at festivals including Isle Of Wight, Reading & Leeds and Boardmasters, and add onto their already scheduled European headline shows, which kick off in October. Visit here for tickets and more information.
The Guest Lists’ 2026 headline tour dates are:
OCTOBER
21 – Brussels, Botanique
23 – Rotterdam, Left of the Dial
24 – Rotterdam, Left of the Dial
25 – Cologne, Artheater
27 – Berlin, Berlin
28 – Hamburg, Turmzimmer
29 – Utrecht, Ekko
31 – Paris, Supersonic Records
NOVEMBER
17 – Newcastle, The Grove
19 – Glasgow, St Luke’s
20 – Birmingham, O2 Institute 2
21 – Oxford, O2 Academy 2
22 – Southampton, Papillion
24 – London, Scala
25 – Leeds, Project House
26 – Bristol, Fleece
