Liverpool post-punk band Echo & The Bunnymen have announced “Apples for Isaac”, their thirteenth studio album and first collection of newly written songs since 2014’s “Meteorites.” The album arrives September 18, 2026, on BMG. Its first single, “Brussels Is Haunted,” is out now.

Ian McCulloch and Will Sergeant, the band’s founding vocalist and guitarist, lead the current lineup. “Brussels Is Haunted” received its first radio play on BBC Radio 6 Music from Chris Hawkins before its streaming release. Drums on the track, and on ten of the album’s eleven songs, were played by Clem Burke of Blondie, recorded before his death in April 2025. Echo & The Bunnymen dedicated the album to Burke, calling him “integral to the making of the album” and closing with the message “Love you Clem X.”

‘Brussels Is Haunted’ single and video

Belgian filmmaker Jef De Smet directed the animated video for “Brussels Is Haunted,” which places the city’s monuments, historical events and past visitors alongside personal recollection. The video’s credits acknowledge the use of AI in portions of its imagery. Lyrically, the song sets Brussels landmarks and history, including Waterloo and the two world wars, against romance, nightlife and Belgian pop figure Plastic Bertrand.

Speaking with MOJO magazine, McCulloch attributed part of the twelve-year gap between albums of new material to the pandemic, and said he wanted each song on “Apples for Isaac” to be, in his words, “cryptically important.”

‘Apples for Isaac’ tracklist and formats

“Apples for Isaac” tracklist:

1. Take Me By The Hand
2. Can’t Be Sold
3. Brussels Is Haunted
4. I’ll Be Your Sunshine
5. Hijacked
6. The Honey
7. Unstoppable Force
8. The Light That Surrounds You
9. Lab Rats Ran
10. Asimov
11. We Prayed In The Dark

The album will be available on black vinyl, picture disc, signed test pressing, CD and digital formats, with clothing and tote-bag bundles also offered. Orders placed through the band’s store include an exclusive signed print. Pre-orders are open here.

Echo & The Bunnymen tour dates for 2026

• July 24-26 – Forest Fest, County Laois, Ireland
• August 7 – Fiesta de Begoña, Gijón, Spain
• August 8 – Festival Noroeste Estrella Galicia, A Coruña, Spain
• September 22 – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, UK (sold out)
• September 23 – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, UK
• December 20 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK
• December 22 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, UK

Ticket information is available through the band’s official website.

About Echo & The Bunnymen

Echo & The Bunnymen formed in Liverpool in 1978 around vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. Pete de Freitas joined as drummer in 1980. The band’s debut album, “Crocodiles,” reached the UK top 20 that year. “Heaven Up Here” followed in 1981. “Porcupine” reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart in 1983 and produced the UK top 10 single “The Cutter.” “Ocean Rain,” released in 1984, included “The Killing Moon,” “Silver” and “Seven Seas.”

McCulloch and Sergeant have continued to record as Echo & The Bunnymen through several later albums: “What Are You Going to Do with Your Life?” (1999), “Flowers” (2001), “Siberia” (2005), “The Fountain” (2009) and “Meteorites” (2014). “Apples for Isaac,” due September 18, 2026 on BMG, is the band’s thirteenth studio album and its first collection of newly written material in the twelve years since “Meteorites.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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