Pias news – Archive, new single ‘city walls’, album ‘glass walls’

ARCHIVE SHARE NEW SINGLE "CITY WALLS"
NEW ALBUM "GLASS MINDS" OUT ON FEBRUARY 27, 2026 VIA DANGERVISIT
Archive - City Walls (Official Video)

31.03.2026 — OM, LIÈGE SOLD OUT
01.04.2026 — OM, LIÈGE SOLD OUT

Archive, the unique, enigmatic and acclaimed collective who formed in Croydon, South London in 1994, have today shared City Walls, the latest single from their forthcoming 13th studio album Glass Minds, which is released on Friday 27th February 2026 via the band's own Dangervisit label through [PIAS].

Talking about City Walls, which follows previous singles Look At Us, and Wake Up Strange, and is accompanied by a stunning video directed by Maxim Kelly,  Archive main man Darius Keeler said: "'City Walls' is a hauntingly beautiful song with a 'stop you in your tracks' vocal from Pollard Berrier. The video that accompanies it, directed once again by Maxim Kelly, is a truly stunning piece of art in its own right."

Glass Minds is the follow-up to the band's 2022 triple-album set, Call to Arms & Angels, which charted Top 10 in countries right across Europe and saw the band headline their biggest live shows to date, culminating at the 15,000 capacity Paris Accor Arena in November 2023.

The album marks a powerful evolution in the band's 30-year journey. Initiated by the core quartet, the record embraces a minimal, down-tempo sound with expansive, emotive space. The addition of Essex rapper Jimmy Collins brings a fierce, haunting energy to Heads Are Gonna Roll, while singer Lisa Mottram delivers spontaneous brilliance across several tracks, including the hypnotic title song and the brooding The Love The Light.

The album's versatility spans raw, percussive rhythms in When You're This Down, electro-pop touches in Wake Up Strange, and motorik vibes in Look At Us. At the emotional core is So Far From Losing You, an eight-minute epic blending rap and vocals that reflects Keeler's personal life. Driven by a desire to create without boundaries, Archive continue to challenge and inspire fans, proving that their creative spark burns as bright as ever.

Talking about the new album, Keeler said:
"The album all started after we composed the song Patterns. We really loved the space and minimalistic power of the song, it reminded us of our debut album Londinium, and how we approached writing at that time - heavy rhythm with a melancholy that penetrates the soul. I was listening to Elgar's Nimrod a lot at the time we started writing the new album, and I wanted to use brass as an added dimension, bringing even more emotion to the songs. Our last album, Call to Arms & Angels was a pretty heavy record in retrospect, due to the whole Covid experience. This one feels like we're breaking out into a more expansive and uplifting dimension."

The album is produced by Archive and long term collaborator Jerome Devoise, recorded at Metway Studios, Brighton & Angel Studios, London and mixed at Studio DES, Paris. The album artwork was designed by Saatchi Gallery collected artist Alaric Hammond.