It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for The K’s. With their debut album I Wonder If the World Knows on the horizon and a huge UK and Ireland tour about to kick off, it feels like everything’s happening at once for the band. Speaking to Ryan Breslin, it’s clear they’re embracing the madness — even if it’s meant working under serious pressure to keep the momentum going.
“That’s what we always sort of pride ourselves on,” Ryan said. “But yeah, it’s mental — we’re just rolling with it.”
Releasing a debut album is a milestone moment for any band, and Ryan doesn’t downplay how special it’s been. “It’s fucking massive. It’s a dream. Getting our first Brit Certified disc the other day — it’s like when you’re a kid dreaming of having your own one of them, and now we’ve got one. That was huge. And then winning the Northern Music Breakthrough Award, playing Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds main stages — it’s like ticking off your top 10 dreams already. It’s just mental.”
With the pace they’ve been moving at, Ryan explained that they had to write, record, and rehearse the new album in just about six weeks — a process he describes as “chaotic but incredible.” Despite the time crunch, he’s buzzing about the results: “Honestly, these are the best songs we’ve ever done. They’re fucking great. We’re so proud of them, and I just can’t wait for people to hear them.”
The new record, I Wonder If the World Knows, drops in June and showcases not just their high-energy live style but also a growing depth and maturity in their songwriting. “We stayed true to the songs,” Ryan said. “Jamie’s great at that. When we played them live for the first time in rehearsals, we all just looked at each other — it was goosebumps. We knew straight away some of these songs are gonna be massive live.”
It’s not just the studio work that’s kept them busy. They’ve recently returned from Texas after performing at the iconic South by Southwest festival. It wasn’t all plain sailing — Ryan flew out suffering from a brutal infection. “I was dying on the plane — proper chest pains and everything. I thought, ‘This is it.’ I spent the first three days stuck in my hotel room. But after that, we smashed through five shows, and it was an unbelievable experience. The whole of Austin just turns into a gig.”
And it sounds like America might be seeing a lot more of The K’s. “We had some meetings out there, and there’s good news coming soon. We’ll definitely be heading back.”
Closer to home, the upcoming tour is set to be the biggest the band has ever done, with dates all over the UK and Ireland — including a bold headline date at London’s Roundhouse. “For a northern band to say, ‘fuck it, we’re doing the biggest show in London,’ that’s massive for us,” Ryan said. “And it’s nearly all sold out — it’s gonna be fucking mega.”
Preparing for the tour hasn’t been easy either, especially locking down all the new material. “Because it was so intense in the studio, we’d come out thinking, ‘What the fuck did we just do to that track?’ We had to figure it all out again! But we nailed it. Full dress rehearsals with the lights, full crew — it’s sounding mega.”
As for life on the road, Ryan’s refreshingly honest about the highs and lows. “The best bit is seeing everyone singing the songs back to you. It’s not a band and a crowd — it’s everyone in the room in it together, forgetting the troubles for a couple of hours. That’s the best high you’ll ever get. The worst bit? Being stuck on a bus with a load of sweaty lads for weeks!”
Once the album’s out, it’ll be a summer of festivals, including Benicàssim and Y Not?, before another tour after the summer. “We’ll probably be working on album three by the end of the year,” Ryan laughed. “No rest!”
When asked what he hopes fans will take from the new album, Ryan is heartfelt: “I hope people can see the development, but most of all, I hope they just relate to it. Music matters. When people message saying a song helped them through something, or they had it played at a wedding or a funeral — that’s bigger than any chart position. That’s what it’s all about.”
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