A dreamy alt-pop number inspired Michael Haneke’s German TV adaptation of Kafka’s The Castle, ‘An Apparition’ is the latest single by eclectic London art-pop ensemble Firestations. Released as part of Lost Map’s PostMap Club subscription service in May as well as via streaming services, it’s the first taste of the band’s fifth album International Dust. Set for release on limited-edition vinyl and via streaming platforms on October 16, 2026, and available to pre-order now, the album marks a return to Firestations’ full five-piece band format, after a journey into stripped back alt-folk territory on last year’s Many White Horses. It represents another significant step up for a consistently creative band who have re-invented themselves yet again, with an album that feels bigger and fuller at surface level than ever before, yet with deeper, even more thought-provoking foundations lurking beneath. Firestations will play at Sea Power’s Krankenhaus festival in the Lake District this summer, and will tour the UK this autumn following the release of International Dust, with some dates announced and on sale now
About ‘An Apparition’, Firestations singer and songwriter Michael Cranny says:
“One of the poppier numbers on the album with some proper catchy singalong lyrics such as: ‘Minimal detail in a memory shadow, this close to being unnoticeable’. All together now! I wanted this to be a kind of anti-monarchy protest song when I first wrote it, but it seems to be more of a ghost story now, maybe about being haunted or possessed without really understanding how or why. Haunted by a misremembered past, perhaps, and going through a series of collective hallucinations. I was also thinking about Michael Haneke’s German TV adaptation of Kafka’s The Castle quite a bit when this song emerged, and I hope that some of that mood has made it into this.”
“One of the poppier numbers on the album with some proper catchy singalong lyrics such as: ‘Minimal detail in a memory shadow, this close to being unnoticeable’. All together now! I wanted this to be a kind of anti-monarchy protest song when I first wrote it, but it seems to be more of a ghost story now, maybe about being haunted or possessed without really understanding how or why. Haunted by a misremembered past, perhaps, and going through a series of collective hallucinations. I was also thinking about Michael Haneke’s German TV adaptation of Kafka’s The Castle quite a bit when this song emerged, and I hope that some of that mood has made it into this.”
Firestations are Mike Cranny (vocals, guitar), Laura Copsey (vocals, keys, flute, flugelhorn), Martin Thompson (guitar, synths, piano), Tom Hargreaves (drums, percussion) and Neil Walsh (bass, viola, vocals). Their music spans genres from shoegaze to alt-pop and harmony-driven psychedelia. Their second album and their debut for Lost Map, The Year Dot, released in 2018, was followed by sonic collage album Dream Home in 2020 and the Automatic Tendencies EP project in 2020-21. The latter took the form of three EPs over a six-month period, each including alternative “sunken” versions by the band as well as covers and remixes of the band’s tracks by other artists. Thick Terrain, released in 2023, saw Firestations return to album format with ten tracks ranging from hypnotic sci-fi landscapes to addictive dream-pop jangles, exploring ideas around identity, conflict, progress and sanity. A collection of sea-soaked acoustic songs and instrumentals written on a sailing expedition around the west coast of Scotland, 2025’s stripped-back Many White Horses was in essence a solo album by Mike, who self-produced and played a variety of instruments on the record.
The nine tracks on new album International Dust encompass an eclectic and intuitive mix of dream-pop, alt-country and hypnotic cyclical numbers, shaped collectively by the band as a unit through various twists and turns at rehearsal sessions during 2024. The album was recorded live at Otterhead Studios in early 2025 (engineered by Ellis Powell-Bevan and Oscar Ball), before being mixed and mastered by James Trevascus (Invada, Portishead, PJ Harvey, Young Fathers). This longer gestation period, combined with having someone outside the band on production duties, “has definitely made for a more expansive and immersive listen,” reckons Mike, “with room for everything to find its place. The musical arrangements this time round also contribute to the immersive feel by exploring the depth of musicianship in the band.”
As well as their primary instruments, Neil’s viola, Laura’s flute and flugelhorn, and Martin’s piano playing feature on multiple songs, taking Firestations to previously uncharted territory. The improvised flute and viola on album opener ‘Hidden Face’ add some playful chaos and menace to proceedings, while on ‘Beginners’ and ‘Sleeping on the Sidelines’, the piano is woven into the mix, giving the tracks a sense of fragility and world-weariness.
More surprisingly perhaps, Mike also adds some jazz adjacent tenor saxophone at the end of ‘International Dust’ (“I do love trying to play the saxophone,” says Mike, “I was powerless to resist a sweet little jazzy burst”). ‘Given Power’ strays into bouncy electronic territory, highlighting an interest in electronica (facilitated by Martin’s Ableton wizardry) and how it can elevate a more standard guitar, bass and drums type band format. “The lyrics are about class, and my journey to becoming an artist as a working-class person,” says Laura. “It references certain materials I’ve used previously – water and flour – and how consumed by the process I get. More generally, the track is about inequality and how many people lack access to basic education and resources, despite curiosity and drive.” The album title itself has to do with the inevitable passing of time and the absurdity of human constructs, created as if permanence was a thing, combined with a questioning of boundaries both imagined and real (as well as being a reference to Silver Jew’s ‘American Water’: try new INTERNATIONAL DUST™!). The album artwork was inspired by a bloated, overgrown maze Laura saw on Reddit several years ago. “The image stayed with me and felt symbolically relevant somehow to the album’s underlying political themes,” she says. The cover was created using Play-Doh, a scanner, and a till receipt printer, with icons made by the band working together in Laura’s studio.
“We had a great time creating these songs together,” says Mike.“When I listen, I’m transported back to the initial rehearsal sessions, perhaps after a couple of beers, when everyone is in, or at least approaching, the same zone. Playing the outro to ‘Hidden Face’ for fifteen minutes for example, getting totally lost in it, or playing ‘Sleeping on the Sidelines’ at quiet, shivery volumes. I feel like quite a lot of that ‘band in a room’ spirit has made it into the finished songs. We’ve all been doing this music thing for some time now, but we all still truly love it, and we want to give something emotionally engaging and something that adds in some small way to the creative conversation that keeps our world turning.”
International Dust track listing:
1. Hidden Face
2. An Apparition
3. International Dust
4. Sleeping on the Sidelines
5. Given Power
6. Movement of a Wheel
7. Beginners
8. This Imaginary Line
9. All the Angles
The nine tracks on new album International Dust encompass an eclectic and intuitive mix of dream-pop, alt-country and hypnotic cyclical numbers, shaped collectively by the band as a unit through various twists and turns at rehearsal sessions during 2024. The album was recorded live at Otterhead Studios in early 2025 (engineered by Ellis Powell-Bevan and Oscar Ball), before being mixed and mastered by James Trevascus (Invada, Portishead, PJ Harvey, Young Fathers). This longer gestation period, combined with having someone outside the band on production duties, “has definitely made for a more expansive and immersive listen,” reckons Mike, “with room for everything to find its place. The musical arrangements this time round also contribute to the immersive feel by exploring the depth of musicianship in the band.”
As well as their primary instruments, Neil’s viola, Laura’s flute and flugelhorn, and Martin’s piano playing feature on multiple songs, taking Firestations to previously uncharted territory. The improvised flute and viola on album opener ‘Hidden Face’ add some playful chaos and menace to proceedings, while on ‘Beginners’ and ‘Sleeping on the Sidelines’, the piano is woven into the mix, giving the tracks a sense of fragility and world-weariness.
More surprisingly perhaps, Mike also adds some jazz adjacent tenor saxophone at the end of ‘International Dust’ (“I do love trying to play the saxophone,” says Mike, “I was powerless to resist a sweet little jazzy burst”). ‘Given Power’ strays into bouncy electronic territory, highlighting an interest in electronica (facilitated by Martin’s Ableton wizardry) and how it can elevate a more standard guitar, bass and drums type band format. “The lyrics are about class, and my journey to becoming an artist as a working-class person,” says Laura. “It references certain materials I’ve used previously – water and flour – and how consumed by the process I get. More generally, the track is about inequality and how many people lack access to basic education and resources, despite curiosity and drive.” The album title itself has to do with the inevitable passing of time and the absurdity of human constructs, created as if permanence was a thing, combined with a questioning of boundaries both imagined and real (as well as being a reference to Silver Jew’s ‘American Water’: try new INTERNATIONAL DUST™!). The album artwork was inspired by a bloated, overgrown maze Laura saw on Reddit several years ago. “The image stayed with me and felt symbolically relevant somehow to the album’s underlying political themes,” she says. The cover was created using Play-Doh, a scanner, and a till receipt printer, with icons made by the band working together in Laura’s studio.
“We had a great time creating these songs together,” says Mike.“When I listen, I’m transported back to the initial rehearsal sessions, perhaps after a couple of beers, when everyone is in, or at least approaching, the same zone. Playing the outro to ‘Hidden Face’ for fifteen minutes for example, getting totally lost in it, or playing ‘Sleeping on the Sidelines’ at quiet, shivery volumes. I feel like quite a lot of that ‘band in a room’ spirit has made it into the finished songs. We’ve all been doing this music thing for some time now, but we all still truly love it, and we want to give something emotionally engaging and something that adds in some small way to the creative conversation that keeps our world turning.”
International Dust track listing:
1. Hidden Face
2. An Apparition
3. International Dust
4. Sleeping on the Sidelines
5. Given Power
6. Movement of a Wheel
7. Beginners
8. This Imaginary Line
9. All the Angles
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