DC post-hardcore/art punk vets Black Eyes returned in 2023 for their first shows since 2004, a reissue, and archival releases, and now they announced their first new album in 21 years. Titled Hostile Design, it arrives on October 10 via Dischord and here’s what the band says about it:
The album was written over fifteen months, between August 2023 and November 2024, and was recorded at Tonal Park studios over three days, with Ian MacKaye resuming his role as producer and Don Godwin engineering. The instrumentation returns to Cough’s two drums, bass, guitar and sax lineup, but adds some fresh elements: live multichannel dubbing, now a standard of our shows, has been integrated into the performances, as have electronic drum triggers and samples as well as the occasional bass clarinet passage.
First single “Pestilence” is out now, and judging by this song, two decades of absence have done nothing to dampen this band’s discordant chaos. Check it out below and pre-order the album here.
Black Eyes have also announced tour dates for 2026 and their own four-night festival in DC, Speaking In Tongues Festival, which goes down this October. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. Break a Leg
2. Burn
3. Under the Waves
4. Pestilence
5. Yeah, Right
6. TomTom
Black Eyes — 2025/2026 Tour Dates
10.11.25: Washington, DC – Black Cat (Speaking In Tongues Fest)
1.16.26: Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room
1.17.26: San Francisco, CA – Neck of the Woods (with the Intima and Vulture Feather)
1.18.26: Berkeley, CA – 924 Gilman Street (with the Intima and Planet on a Chain)
3.26.26: Providence, RI (with Downtown Boys)
3.27.26: Montreal, QC – Théâtre Fairmount
3.28.26: Toronto, ON
3.29.26: Pittsburgh, Spirit Hall
4.11.26: Chicago – Thalia Hall