After an eight-year hiatus, legendary UK indie-rock icons The Charlatans UK roar back with their 14th studio album, We Are Love, out October 31 via BMG. The title track, also released today, sets the tone: an urgent, euphoric anthem that frontman Tim Burgess calls “an open-top car ride in the credits of your favorite movie.”
Premiered live to a hometown crowd at Castlefield Bowl, “We Are Love” is a big-hearted call to connection—propelled by clattering drums, chiming guitars, and the kind of wide-eyed optimism only The Charlatans can deliver. Guitarist Mark Collins notes it was the song that “drove the entire record forward.”
We Are Love is a triumphant blend of reflection and reinvention. Recorded at Rockfield Studios (for the first time since Tellin’ Stories) and the band’s own Big Mushroom space, the album channels themes of hauntology and psychogeography, exploring how memory and place shape creativity. It also honors their legacy, with nods to late keyboardist Rob Collins, and their storied 30+ year career.
Co-produced by an all-star team—Dev Hynes, Fred Macpherson, and Stephen Street—the record features 11 future-facing tracks that are emotionally rich, sonically vibrant, and deeply rooted in the love that’s kept the band together for decades.
To celebrate, the band has also announced a UK tour this December with headline dates in Leeds, Stoke, Bath, London, Manchester, and Glasgow.
This is more than a comeback. It’s a rebirth.