Experimental Rockers Atsuko Chiba announce self-titled fourth full-length, scheduled for release on April 24th, 2026 via Mothland. The Montrealers also to share images compiled by the band to go along with opener “Retention” on February 03, 2026.
Montréal’s Atsuko Chiba offer “pounding, angular rock” (BrooklynVegan), venturesomely crossing genre-defining borders with a cohesive and hypnotic blend of Post-Rock, Progressive Rock, and Krautrock, weaving together a rich sonic tapestry that subverts through offbeat songwriting. Since forming, they have released three full-length albums (“Jinn,” “Trace,” and “Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing“), two EPs (“Figure and Ground” and “The Memory Empire“), as well as a slew of singles, all of which they self-produced at Room 11, their home studio. After offering booming tracks “Pope’s Cocaine” and “Climax Therapy” in the Summer of 2025, the five-piece unveil “Atsuko Chiba” on April 24th, 2026 via Mothland, a self-titled long-player introducing elements from Trip-Hop, Chamber Pop, and Ambient to their already sprawling Psychedelic alloy.
With the announcement, Atsuko Chiba are to share the album’s opener, a subtly mushrooming slow jam entitled “Retention” on February 3rd, 2026 via Mothland. Unfolding along an otherworldly shuffle, arborescent synthesizer and guitar arrangements waltz atop patented percussion and uncanny melodic basslines, vocals becoming increasingly melodious with every breath, ultimately combining into a soulful choir for the coda. Lyrically, the song recounts a tale of rituals, spirits, and effigies from a parallel universe.
Karim Lakhdar from Atsuko Chiba comments: “Retention” takes place in a world not quite our own—half dream, half memory—where every shadow holds a story and every breath carries the weight of what once was. At its center is a young boy who lives in a village haunted by the quiet, persistent ghosts of the past. They linger in doorframes, whisper through the trees, and stare back from every surface like reflections. There is only one way to free himself: the boy must meet the spirits face to face. He gathers what remains of them—fragments of memory, pieces of lives unfinished—and shapes them into effigies. One by one, he sets them aflame. This ritual, both tender and terrifying, invites the spirits to release their hold and return to whatever lies beyond. With each burning figure, a thread is severed, a burden lifted, a soul allowed to rest. Yet the question remains—when all the effigies have turned to ash, will the boy finally be free, or will he always carry the guilt of the past.”
Watch the official video for “Retention” via the YouTube player below:
Each sprawling sonic essay is a world of its own, yet Atsuko Chiba remains iridescently cohesive, putting on display an a-priori array of polychromatic sounds…
Atsuko Chiba come full-circle with the release of their self-titled fourth long-player, positively rethinking their sound while unearthing six idiosyncratic gems that resonate deeply with their experimental ethos. Each sprawling sonic essay is a world of its own, yet “Atsuko Chiba” (April 24th, 2026 via Mothland) remains iridescently cohesive, putting on display an a-priori array of polychromatic sounds. Drawing inspiration from visionary artists such as Mark Lanegan, Beak>, Talk Talk, Can, or Portishead, the five-piece offer 32 minutes of ethereal exploration.
Though the Montréal outfit have been introducing more and more singing with every release, their namesake sees Atsuko Chiba further wield vocals as a means to delve into their intrinsic meta. And with this introspection comes a lyrical universe that coexists effortlessly with wildly evocative soundscapes. “Atsuko Chiba” is all at once a gritty Post-Rock epic and an intimate hymn to self-discovery, made possible by creativity, but even more so by collective self-reflection; its moodiness amplifying a communal desire to strain away from recurrent patterns for the sake of comfort, approval, and longevity.
Atsuko Chiba comment: “Overall, Atsuko Chiba is an exercise in patience and restraint. The mood of the album is melancholic, at times feeling optimistic, while other times feeling almost hopeless—there’s a sense of loss and disconnect, but also a glimmer of hope. It is the most vulnerable and stripped down music we have ever made. It is a departure from the aggressive and distorted guitar sound we’ve relied on over the years. We also chose to make it a self-titled record which is something we battled with. We went with Atsuko Chiba because its overarching themes relate to us in a deep way. The material on this album presents itself as a mosaic of our interests and experiences as a band. We let the music guide us every step of the way, never forcing our will upon it, instead paying attention to what it was telling us and what we could do to further support it.
At first, we would come into the studio without a plan, just playing and recording the entire time, with no pressure as to a specific outcome: free jams during which we were just generating grooves, parts, and moments that felt good to us. We also put limitations, cutting out certain instruments from session to session, opening us to new options and pathways, generating new sound palettes. A lot of attention was put into creating space and holding back from always going for big epic moments. We focussed on keeping things simple and using dynamics to create exciting moments instead of relying on loud guitars to get us there. This album features a lot of auxiliary percussion, synthesizers, and keyboards, and places a strong emphasis on vocals. We explored acoustic guitars and created many custom percussive sounds by layering two or three sources together, also programming rhythms using samplers and drum machines.”
From the onset, Atsuko Chiba decided to treat this new opus with a freeform creative process, which could only be achieved by pursuing a hands-on approach, and by each band member—Anthony Piazza (drums, electronic drums, percussion), David Palumbo (bass, bass VI, vocals), Eric Schafhauser (guitar, synthesizers), Karim Lakhdar (vocals, guitar, synthesizers), and Kevin McDonald (synthesizers, guitar)—sharing the roles of engineer and producer. The collective later turned to longtime collaborators Matthew Cerantola for the mix, Harris Newman for the mastering, as well as Hannes Pasqualini at Papernoise Design for the artworks.
The new self-titled Atsuko Chiba album will be available April 24, 2026 through Mothland. Stream the new single “Retention” on Bandcamp: https://atsukochiba.bandcamp.com/track/retention
Tracklist:
01. Retention
02. Pretense
03. Future Ways
04. Tar Sands
05. Torn
06. Locked and Array
Read our review of their previous album “Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing” here: [Review] Atsuko Chiba – Water, It Feels Like It’s Growing