Liverpool duo King Hannah traded grey skies for Montreal’s December frost last month, holing up in the city to write their third album. Between sessions, they ate well.
The atmospheric indie duo of Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle spent November and early December 2025 in Montreal working on material for their follow-up to last year’s Big Swimmer. In a social media post shared this week, the band confirmed they’d met their writing goals for the first session and would return to work in the new year after spending the holidays at home. “We have a long way to go,” they wrote, “but we wrote stuff we’re happy with.”
The band also took time to explore Montreal’s food scene. Favourites included Lemeac, Brasserie Bernard, Bernie Beigne, Dinette Marcella, Café Olimpico, Wolf and Workman, Bishop and Bagg, Bar Henrietta, Falafel Yoni, Prezze Mollo, Café Éclair, and Brookies.
No release date or album title has been announced. King Hannah’s last full-length, Big Swimmer, arrived in May 2024 and featured a guest vocal from Sharon Van Etten. The album expanded on the smoky, cinematic slowcore sound the band established with their 2022 debut, I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me, blending psych-rock textures with Americana-inflected atmospherics. Comparisons to Mazzy Star and PJ Harvey have followed them since their early EPs, but the duo has steadily carved out their own lane with Merrick’s reportage-style lyrics and Whittle’s evocative guitar work.
The band formed in 2017 after reconnecting at a Liverpool bar where they both worked. They’ve since built a reputation as a powerful live act, moving from word-of-mouth buzz to sold-out tours and chart recognition. With album three now in progress, they’re aiming to return to the studio in early 2026.
