Belfast quartet Wynona Bleach announce their sophomore album Animal Style, and share the explosive new single ‘Be Positive’ (January 28th). Due May 29th via Fierce Panda Records (Coldplay, Placebo) and Propeller Sound Recordings (US only), the bands second full length release showcases some of their most complete and expansive work to date.
Produced by Wynona Bleach’s own Jonny Woods alongside Andy Bradfield (Bjork, Rufus Wainwright, The XX, Manic St Preachers, Spice Girls), and Avril Mackintosh (Bryan Adams, Marillion), the new single ‘Be Positive’ captures an expansive, crunching first taste of the album with heavily distorted guitars, punching drums and grounding bass under the commanding, soaring lead vocals. Surrounded by well placed harmonies, the track builds through its anthemic chorus. Driving and intense, yet atmospheric and mysterious thanks to the reverb drenched nature of the production, the result is a sound as rooted in alt-rock and punk as it is in shoegaze and grunge.
Speaking about the single, the band explain: “When nostalgia may seem your only way to feel positive about the future, it might be best to kill your darlings. With that being said, we wanted to feature a big “Phil collins” snare in it, so armed with the cheapest lexicon reverb rack unit we could find (an MPX100) and without the ability to change the duration of the snare reverb, we wrote the entire song around that snare sound – that we recorded analog. The track title is a nod to one of the band members blood type, and a nod to goth rock heroes of ours, Type O Negative.”
Continuing to talk about the album in full… “This sophomore album was recorded in an old ballroom above a working men’s club in Belfast. The band had just become a 4-piece, working remotely with London-based longstanding production collaborators Andy Bradfield (The XX, Rufus Wainwright, Queen) and Avril Mackintosh (Bryan Adams). Upon finishing the albums recording sessions, the band headed to the US to perform 22 shows across the US, including 10 showcases at SXSW 2025, NYC, Nashville and a personal invite to perform at Bob Clearmountain’s Apogee studios in Los Angeles. This led them to secure a deal with Propeller Sound Recordings in Nashville, and continuing their Fierce Panda Signing for the UK release.
Animal Style is a return to the band’s basic loves, a more guitar-focused album with less guitars.” Wynona Bleach have rapidly established themselves as one of the most compelling bands to emerge from Northern Ireland in recent years. Formed in 2018, the band quickly built momentum, performing at Reading & Leeds Festivals and completing a 12-date headline tour of Russia that spanned over 6,500 miles.
Since then they signed to the influential Fierce Panda Records – home to early releases from Coldplay and Placebo, marking a major milestone in their ascent. Their debut album Moonsoake (February 2022), recorded in an abandoned factory in Portugal, was met with critical acclaim and followed the band being personally selected to support Alice in Chains on the Irish leg of their world tour. That same year, Wynona Bleach were nominated for the Northern Ireland Music Prize for both Album and Live Act, while touring extensively, including appearances at Other Voices Festival.
Their momentum continued with showcase performances at SXSW and New Colossus Festival in New York, a US tour, a full UK and Ireland tour including Ireland Music Week, and a five-date tour supporting Ash (another band who personally chose them as support).
Receiving airplay on BBC Radio 6, BBC Introducing NI, RTÉ 2FM, and US tastemaker station KEXP, the band have had support across tastemaker press as well as landing a number of Spotify editorial placements. Following a slot at SXSW 2025, New Colossus NYC, Irish Music showcases in Nashville, and a personal invitation to perform at Bob Clearmountain’s Apogee Studio in Santa Monica, their sophomore album, Animal Style, is now completed and set for release on 29th May 2026.