Iona Zajac by Carys Huws / @caryshuws
Having already built an unparalleled reputation as both a solo songwriter and performer, as well as a touring vocalist with The Pogues, Glasgow’s Iona Zajac now shares details of her highly anticipated debut album Bang, set for release 21st November.
To say that 2025 has been a whirlwind year for Zajac would be an understatement. In February, she released her first new music since 2023 with the brittle, haunting, yearning single “Summer”. The release coincided with her joining Alison Moyet as main support for a sold-out 25-date theatre UK tour, which included standout shows at London’s Palladium, Dublin’s 3Olympia, and Belfast’s Ulster Hall.
By early summer, Zajac returned to the stage with The Pogues, reprising her role from their celebrated reunion in Dublin the previous December. She joined Spider Stacey, James Fearnley, Jem Finer and a host of acclaimed new touring members, including Holly Mullineux, Nadine Shah, Lisa O’Neill, and Lankum’s Daragh Lynch. Together, they brought Pogues classics to life in front of packed crowds at Brixton’s O2 Academy, Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom (two nights), and Manchester’s Apollo among others.
Following “Summer” came the release of what has now been revealed as the album’s title track. “Bang” is a sexually liberated, joyous celebration of Zajac’s discovery of sex beyond the confines of the male gaze, a bold rejection of the slut-shaming culture of her teens, reframed as a reclamation of pleasure.
In July, she unveiled “Anton”, a raw and unflinching reflection on formative experiences with toxic men. Marrying stark honesty with Zajac’s intense emotional delivery, the song demonstrated not only her fearless lyrical candour but also the extraordinary range and command of her voice – equally capable of intimacy and ferocity.
Now, Zajac shares a further glimpse into Bang with the release of “Dilute”, one of the record’s most striking and surreal centrepieces. Anchored by an off-kilter intensity, the track channels the disorienting logic of dreams, where anger and empowerment blur into something raw and otherworldly. If “Anton” revealed the bruised honesty of her songwriting, “Dilute” embodies its feral, unrestrained power, a song that transforms fury into liberation.
Listen to “Dilute” HERE
Speaking on the track, Zajac says: “Dilute is the anchor of my first album, Bang. I sort of see the song as one of my weird dreams that I’m forcing into reality. Why can’t we run around with red faces, screaming at men who’ve wronged us? I see no issue. I see myself as a feral, strong woman in this song, and I want it to be one for women to find their anger and turn it into power and then one day maybe we can all meet up in a forest painted red and run through it holding hands screaming. Rise together from the warm black oil we’ve been dunked in! After I wrote the song my mum went to an exhibition and found Judy Chicago ‘Woman and Red Flares.’ I think she nailed it.”
“Dilute” music video by Carys Huws @caryshuws
Across its eleven tracks, Bang captures the full spectrum of Zajac’s voice as both a writer and performer – from raw, unflinching confrontations with violence and toxic relationships to moments of surreal humour and playful release. Influenced by the words of Maya Angelou and Emily Dickinson, as well as her own dreamscapes and poetry, Zajac crafts a record that is as cathartic as it is empowering. It is an album rooted in resilience and solidarity, but one that also embraces discomfort, playfulness, and the contradictions that make us human.
Speaking about the record as a whole, Zajac reflects:
“Bang is my debut album and although there’s more to life than songs it really does feel like a lot of my past 15 years in a nutshell. So it’s quite a full on release but about bloody time. I hope that it’s an album that’s both cathartic and empowering, makes you relax and also makes you a bit uneasy. Because all that stuff is life innit. My mantra that I stand by in all the art I make comes from Lucia Berlin, and that’s ‘The best thing that could happen to you would be for you to be uncomfortable once in a while.’ So thanks for listening, thanks for thinking, let’s go bang crazy.”
Iona will continue to perform with The Pogues starting this Friday, across the the East Coast of the USA and Canada. (Full list of dates below.)
Bang album artwork by Izzie Austin
Bang tracklsiting
Bowls
Bang
Dilute
Summer
End of the Year
Anton
Salt
Chicken Supermarket
Murder Mystery
Ridiculous Hat
Loving is Rough
Iona Zajac live
Sept 5th – Lincoln Centre, Washington (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 7th – Seasun Festival, Boston (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 8th – Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 10th – History, Toronto (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 12th – Mtelus, Montreal (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 13th – CityFolk Festival, Ottowa (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 16th – Terminal 5, New York (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 17th – Terminal 5, New York (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 19th – Riot Fest, Chicago (As part of The Pogues)
Sept 22nd – Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow (w/ Lisa O’Neill)
Sept 23rd – Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow (w/ Lisa O’Neill)
Sept 24th – The Glasshouse, Gateshead (w/ Lisa O’Neill)
November 27th – The Social, London (album release headline show – onsale Monday 8th September)
More on Bang:
Zajac’s strength as an artist lies in her ability to balance light and dark with startling ease. While songs like “Bowls,” “Dilute” and “Anton” anchor the record in raw explorations of violence and intimacy, elsewhere she lets surrealism and humour take centre stage. The dreamlike “Chicken Supermarket” imagines hallucinatory encounters with Billy Connolly and seas of jelly, while the exuberant title track revels in sexual liberation with infectious, pop-fuelled guitar tones. This tonal dexterity – at once bruising and playful – places Zajac alongside kindred spirits such as PJ Harvey and Angel Olsen, artists unafraid to marry the intimate with the explosive.
Her commanding voice, honed on stages across the UK and Europe, has seen her tour with Mercury Rev, Arab Strap, Lankum, and Cassandra Jenkins, as well as join Alison Moyet on her sold-out 2025 tour. Last year, she was invited to perform with The Pogues at their landmark reunion in Dublin, later touring with the band through packed shows at Brixton Academy, Manchester Apollo, and Glasgow’s Barrowlands. With her own headline shows on the horizon, Zajac’s reputation as one of the UK’s most vital new voices is only growing stronger.
Bang was recorded at Post Electric Studio in Edinburgh with producer Dani Bennett-Spragg, alongside Joe Taylor (drums), Ellie Mason (guitar, synths), and Ben Manning (bass). Drawing on influences from Sibylle Baier and Portishead to her Polish and Ukrainian heritage, Zajac weaves together intimate acoustic moments and full-band dynamism with an intensity that reflects her arresting live performances.
Pictured above Bang official store bundle, and below Bang indie exclusive
Pre-order Bang HERE