Katie Gregson-MacLeod announces debut album ‘Albatros’ set for release November 6th

Today, Katie Gregson-MacLeod announces her long-awaited debut album, Albatross, set for release on November 6th via Matt Maltese’s Last Recordings on Earth. The announcement arrives alongside new single ‘Nothing Really Changes’, the second offering from the record following ‘I Don’t Think Of Kissing You’, released June 16th. Listen/watch HERE.

‘Nothing Really Changes’ opens the album but was among the last songs Katie wrote for it — a moment of quiet reflection built into a soaring arrangement punctuated by a gleaming guitar solo courtesy of Matthew Field. Speaking on the track, Katie shares:

“Nothing Really Changes serves as the record’s proper ‘opening number’ and also its narrative conclusion. Writing the album, this song represented the putting-down-of-the-pen for me. It became as cathartic sonically as it had felt to write. Rather than attempt to make sense of anything, Nothing Really Changes just sits back and observes it. The conclusion: it always does.”

Albatross marks the next chapter for Katie following a period of significant transformation – leaving her major label deal behind, returning to the Scottish Highlands, and rebuilding her relationship to music and songwriting from the ground up. The album takes its title from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in which the albatross transforms from a symbol of good fortune into a burden carried around the neck – a fitting emblem for a record that turns its gaze toward wanting, and the strange weight of getting exactly what you asked for. Recorded live over two weeks with a close-knit band of collaborators, more details on Albatross will follow in the coming weeks.

Albatross follows Katie’s 2025 EP Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early, released last summer. A five-track collection of love songs written amidst the chaos of her early career, the EP was recorded at Edwyn Collins’ studio in Helmsdale and produced alongside Katie’s friend Josh Scarbrow, marking a deliberate return to the root of her music. It was supported by an extensive UK and EU headline tour last autumn, taking in sold-out nights across Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, London and more.

Katie will return to the road this August and September for a run of intimate UK shows, with support from Bonnie Kemplay. Full dates below, tickets available HERE.

Growing up in the Scottish Highlands, Katie Gregson-MacLeod was immersed in music from an early age, singing alongside her pianist mother and losing herself in musicals with her parents. Inspired by classic singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Elliott Smith, Katie’s journey began busking in Inverness before a viral 2022 breakout on TikTok with single ‘complex’ led to international recognition, a major label deal, and an Ivor Novello nomination. Since striking out independently, Katie has continued to build a devoted following through her distinctive blend of deeply personal lyricism and folk-influenced sound, with Albatross standing as her most fully-realised work to date.

Live Dates
26 August – Brighton – Folklore Rooms*
27 August – Bath – Electric Komedia*
28 August – Cardiff – Canopi*
30 August – London – Green Note (MATINEE)*
13 September – York – The Crescent*
14 September – Nottingham – Rough Trade*
15 September – Oxford – Little Bully*
16 September – Margate – ARK*
*w/ support from Bonnie Kemplay