Holiday Ghosts announce their fifth album, Coat of Arms

The forthcoming album, Coat of Arms, is the follow-up to 2023's Absolute Reality. The announcement arrives alongside news of a mammoth UK headline tour, including a date at London’s Moth Club lined up this April, which follows their debut trip stateside for SXSW.

"I’m Iranian, my parents were both born there and moved to Sweden after the Iranian revolution in the ‘80s,” explains co-vocalist Kat Rackin. “I was born in Malmö and moved to England when I was eight. I grew up as a child with little attachment to Iran as I tried my hardest to blend in with the people around me, but the older I got the more different I felt and the more blurred my sense of self got.”

“Sublime Disconnect’s lyrics speak to this dissonance of identity, with lines like: “And now they ask who am I and where am I from/Will I find peace when I belong?” “In hindsight I can pinpoint a few incidents of racism that planted this seed that I didn't fully belong here, that Sweden or England, weren't really my home,” say Kat, “nor is Iran as I have never been there as my parents aren't allowed back. The song is partly putting this question out there: what does it mean to belong?”

Detailing the accompanying video, the band added: “This video was filmed by our housemate and very talented friend Max / Hollow Hand. We were watching some early punk videos from the 70s where it’s like someone said to them : “right, the kids have got your single, now they need to see what you guys look like playing innit”. We booked our nearest village hall and borrowed a few cameras. I always think it’s funny seeing the electric guitars mimed with no amps or cables, and the drums where the sticks are clearly not hitting the tubs. “I didn’t realise that Max was still filming right at the end, I was doing an impression of John Lennon from the 60s Beatles performances. Me and Max always joke about how uncool his stance is on stage, kinda legs wide apart and arse sticking out.”