Ailbhe Reddy announces new album, KISS BIG
By Ailbhe Reddy
Announces new album KISS BIG
out 30 January 2026 on Don Giovanni Records
+ shares new single ‘So Quickly, Baby’ – Out Now
+ announces Button Factory headline show for May 2026
Listen to So Quickly, Baby
Ailbhe Reddy, one of Ireland’s most compelling and emotive artists, today announces the release of her third album KISS BIG for 30th January 2026 on U.S. label, Don Giovanni Records.
After the critical success of her debut, the Choice Music Prize nominated Personal History (2020), and sophomore album Endless Affair (2023), which was praised by Pitchfork, The Guardian, The Irish Times and CLASH, on Kiss Big, Dublin-born, London-based Reddy returns with an album about endings, beginnings and all the chaotic beauty in between.
A portrait of true closeness and intimacy, KISS BIG showcases Reddy’s world-class songwriting talent and multifaceted artistry.
Today also marks the release of new single ‘So Quickly, Baby’ and the announcement of her biggest headline show to date at The Button Factory, Dublin on 8th May 2026.
Tickets for The Button Factory show are on sale Thursday 30th October, 10am via singularartists.ie and ticketmaster.ie. Sign up to Ailbhe Reddy’s mailing list for access to artist pre-sale.
‘So Quickly, Baby’, the second single to be released from Kiss Big, following September’s ‘Align’, is a sharp, restless portrait of heartbreak in motion. Anchored by her signature mix of lyrical intimacy and emotional clarity, the track captures that maddening moment when the person who once knew you best seems to move on before you’ve even begun to process the loss.
Speaking about the single, Reddy says:
“This is the meltdown track. The album’s neurotic heartbeat. A tug-of-war between grace and chaos. The verses attempt to be the bigger person while the choruses unveil the question at the heart of it, “How are you already fine and when will I be?”
It’s about the push-pull between wanting to be gracious and wanting to scream. That weird neurotic whiplash when someone seems totally fine while you feel like you’ve been dropped in the middle of nowhere without a map.”
KISS BIG unfolds as a breakup record – but not the tidy, acoustic kind. It lives in the messy middle: the disorienting period when the life you built with someone collapses, and you’re left trying to figure out who you are on your own.
Written between Dublin, London, New York and the American Midwest, KISS BIG traces the cycle of love, loss, and renewal. It’s raw and wry: the sound of coming apart and gluing yourself back together.
From the reflective calm of ‘Align’ to the self-sabotaging haze of ‘Gorgeous Thing’, and the vulnerable self-reckoning of ‘That Girl’, Reddy builds an emotional world that’s deeply personal yet quietly universal.
“It’s about the aftershock of a break up,” Reddy explains. “That liminal space where you’re equal parts sad, hopeful, terrified and probably a bit delusional.”
Building on the foundations of her previous records Endless Affair (2023) and Personal History (2020), KISS BIG signals a return to more instinctive, personal songwriting — guided by feeling rather than concept, and drawing inspiration from the artists who first shaped her musical world. Sonically, the record leans into an electronic palette while retaining an organic warmth, moving seamlessly between intimate acoustic reflection and bold, cinematic arrangements.
The KISS BIG album artwork, shot and designed by Su Müstecaplıoğlu and Sirin Tunali, mirrors the themes of intimacy and imperfection. Featuring real couples kissing — unposed, vulnerable and human — it captures the messy tenderness at the heart of the record.
UPCOMING LIVE DATES
7 Nov 2025 – New York, NY @ Cafe Wha? (tickets)
8 Nov 2025 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy (tickets)
21 Apr 2026 – London, UK @ The Lexington (tickets)
8 May 2026 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory (tickets)
Connect with Ailbhe Reddy
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