{"id":10720,"date":"2026-05-11T16:34:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culturalleft.org\/cl\/2026\/05\/11\/kneecap-album-raises-a-middle-finger-to-the-british-establishment-reviews-culture-socialist-worker\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:34:35","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:34:35","slug":"kneecap-album-raises-a-middle-finger-to-the-british-establishment-reviews-culture-socialist-worker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturalleft.org\/cl\/2026\/05\/11\/kneecap-album-raises-a-middle-finger-to-the-british-establishment-reviews-culture-socialist-worker\/","title":{"rendered":"Kneecap album raises a middle finger to the British establishment Reviews & Culture – Socialist Worker"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The\n

The band\u2019s third album is a vindication for the Palestine movement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Kneecap\u2019s third album FENIAN, released at the start of May, is their first since they beat terror charges against Mo Chara in September.<\/p>\n

The album is their usual brand of unashamedly political music which will be at home in countless raves and parties.<\/p>\n

FENIAN has a triumphant energy to it, especially in tracks like Liars Tale. It is exactly the energy you would expect from a group that has taken on the British state and repeatedly won<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Palestine features Arabic language rapper Fawzi and showcases Irish-Palestinian solidarity. The Palestine movement stood firmly behind Kneecap. The case was thrown out in a massive boost to the movement.<\/p>\n

Kneecap remind us again and again that the real story is in Gaza and in the brutal actions of Israel. This sentiment is strongly expressed in Carnival.<\/p>\n

With Israel\u2019s ongoing attacks on Lebanon and its war on Iran, it is an important one.<\/p>\n

The final track Irish Goodbye featuring Kae Tempest, fits perfectly with the album even though it tackles a different topic, one the group have explored in earlier albums.<\/p>\n

This song is about Mogla\u00ed Bap\u2019s loss of his mother to suicide. This is addressed in the complex and emotional way in which the trio have previously addressed topics around mental health.<\/p>\n

The album is currently sitting at Number 1 in the British charts, a first for an Irish language album.<\/p>\n

The album and its success is a massive middle finger to the British establishment and a vindication of the Palestine movement.<\/p>\n

Kneecap\u2019s many fans, no doubt, will be rapping along to the lyrics \u201cFuck Keir Starmer.\u201d<\/p>\n