The Real McKenzies are back with new single ‘Black Agnes’, the second cut from forthcoming album On Yer Bike, due 29 May 2026 via Stomp Records.
The Vancouver Celtic punk lifers, fronted by Paul McKenzie since 1992, return with a track that leans hard into their classic Fat-era sound. ‘Black Agnes’ is fast, melodic, built around tight pop-punk drive with the band’s signature bagpipes cutting through to lift the chorus into full shoutalong territory.
It’s the second taste of On Yer Bike following lead single ‘I Wanna Eat Sardines (With Yer Mother)’, and represents an interesting moment for the band. This is their first full-length release since the closing of long-time home Fat Wreck Chords, but rather than coast through the transition they’ve sharpened the blade. Three decades in and there’s a renewed focus running through every bar.
For fans of The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly and NOFX, the McKenzies have spent over thirty years quietly defining Celtic punk in North America. They’ve shared stages with Rancid, NOFX, Flogging Molly and Metallica, and built their reputation the way the best bands always do, night after night in front of audiences who actually showed up.
The bagpipes are still front and centre, the punk speed is still relentless, and ‘Black Agnes’ sounds exactly like a band who know what they’re good at. The accompanying music video is out now, pints presumably already spilled.
