Today – 5th June 2026 – Dea Matrona release their highly anticipated second studio album ‘Hate That I Care’ and announce their 2026 UK & Ireland tour dates, including the Islington Assembly Hall in London. The visualiser for their song “A Rebel Song” is also out now.
LISTEN TO “HATE THAT I CARE” | WATCH THE “A REBEL SONG” VISUALISER
Recorded, written and produced entirely by the band, ‘Hate That I Care’ marks a bold and self-assured step forward for Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe. Leaning further into alt-rock, the record showcases a sharper, more confident sound while diving deeper into themes of identity, pressure and self-reflection.
Across 10 tracks, ‘Hate That I Care’ sees Dea Matrona explore both personal and political themes with some of their most honest songwriting to date. Touching on female empowerment, identity, imposter syndrome and the feeling of being an outsider, the album finds Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe growing into their sound while holding onto the melodies and harmonies that have become their trademark.
Written and recorded together largely on the road, the record moves between moments of vulnerability and defiance. From the introspective title track and recent single “My Own Party” to the politically charged “Rebel Song” and deeply personal “Aisling”, ‘Hate That I Care’ sees Dea Matrona at their most confident, self-assured and direct yet.
Speaking about the album, the band shared:
“Hate That I Care is an album that combines so much of who we are and our values as two women coming from Ireland. We started playing music together when we were teenagers and we were so naive that it took us a while to find our footing. This album is vulnerable and deals with your own identity and inner conflict. We feel like it’s more ourselves.”
Acoustic Instores
Friday 5 June 2026 — Liverpool, Jacaranda
Saturday 6 June 2026 — Oxford, Truck
Sunday 7 June 2026 — London, Rough Trade Denmark Street
Monday 8 June 2026 — Bristol, Rough Trade
Tuesday 9 June 2026 — Birmingham, HMV Vault
Wednesday 10 June 2026 — Dublin, Golden Discs
To celebrate the release, Dea Matrona will embark on a UK & Ireland headline tour later this year:
Hate That I Care 2026 UK & Éire Tour
Sunday 22 November 2026 — Leeds, Wardrobe
Monday 23 November 2026 — London, Islington Assembly Hall
Tuesday 24 November 2026 — Bristol, Thekla
Thursday 26 November 2026 — Glasgow, SWG3 Warehouse
Friday 27 November 2026 — Manchester, New Century Locker
Saturday 28 November 2026 — Dublin, The Academy
Tickets and information: deamatrona.co.uk
About Dea Matrona:
Irish rock duo Dea Matrona first met under competitive circumstances. In their early teens, vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe forged the foundations of their friendship as contenders in an Irish language singing competition, before uniting to go busking together on the streets of Belfast, which marked the beginning of a near decade-long journey as musical partners.
Dea Matrona’s ascent has been driven by a vehement DIY attitude, honing their sound through years of performing live to build up a loyal fanbase and self-funding their own releases. Their 2024 debut album, For Your Sins, reached No.1 on the Independent breakers charts, received airplay on BBC Radio 1, took them to Glastonbury and also secured them a slot supporting Canadian rock favourites The Beaches on tour. This summer, the duo will be joining music icon Sting on the road, bringing their genre-blending sounds to even bigger stages.
Now, on the cusp of releasing their highly anticipated sophomore album, Hate That I Care (due on 5th June 2026 via AWAL), Dea Matrona have upped the ante, tackling both the personal and political issues that have moulded them into the band – and the young women – that they are today. Their new record explores themes of female empowerment and identity from an Irish perspective, as well as the feeling of being an outsider, in both a musical and deeply personal sense. McGinn sums this up eloquently: “We’re excited to release this album. We feel like it’s more ourselves and it’s more aware of the world around us, how we feel we fit into it and being more bold with what we want to say.”
Whilst there is a strong sense of nostalgia running through their music, reminiscent of the dreamy hooks crafted by legendary bands like Fleetwood Mac and The Cranberries, Dea Matrona’s perceptive lyrics are firmly rooted in the present. Predominantly writing and recording songs together in the back of the van that they share to go on tour, the duo work through feelings of imposter syndrome and their frustrations at the world around them to create their high energy, swaggering rock-inspired sounds.
The joy that Dea Matrona feels when writing together is personified most vehemently on “Told U I’m Strange”, the final track on their LP. It’s a carefree anthem prompted by a fun improv writing session, which Forsythe remembers fondly: “It’s funny, because the album starts with [the title track] “Hate That I Care” and the feeling that you care so much and it ends with “Told U I’m Strange – so it’s kind of like ‘Ha! Joke’s on you!'” Whatever the Dea Matrona encounter together, McGinn sums up her relationship with Forsythe perfectly: “Just strange and having a lot of fun!”
