Manchester alternative-folk band Alor are set to release ‘nuclear’ on 5th November 2026, a slow, ambient piece about existential dread and the fear of what lies beyond.
Alor will release ‘nuclear’ on 5th November 2026. It is the first single from their debut album ‘61/350’, due in spring 2027.
‘nuclear’ is a slow-tempo singer-songwriter piece shaped by plagal harmony and ambient texture. Frontman Ollie writes about his fear of space and the unknown, and about how anything can make sense when so many questions remain unanswered.
“This track explores existential dread; in particular my fear of space and the beyond, and trying to understand how anything can make sense when we have so many unanswered questions about what lies beyond,” says Ollie.
The band released their self-titled debut EP in 2024, following the success of ‘Oath Breaker’. Their name is the Old English word for the alder tree, traditionally given to mark retirement or a new chapter, which is how the band saw the change of name. Their influences include Fleet Foxes, The War On Drugs, Gregory Alan Isakov, Joni Mitchell and Elbow. ‘nuclear’ will appeal to fans of Fleet Foxes, The Blue Nile, Lizzy McAlpine, Madison Cunningham, Billy Joel, Bruce Hornsby and Tom Odell.
Following this lead track, Alor’s debut album – ‘61/350’ – is a conceptual story of identity and mental health. It draws on Ollie’s experience of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and depression, and on a breakdown at the end of 2023. Journalling hadn’t worked for him in recovery, but the piano did. He wrote much of the music during a month alone in a farmhouse in Normandy, and the lyrics followed once he had some distance from that period.
“It’s been a very different process to how we’ve done anything before,” Ollie says of the record. Alor built it track by track over a year, a departure from their earlier, live-focused work, and it is their most produced material to date.
“Generally the themes are about the human experience and I like to leave it open to interpretation,” he adds. “People have often told me what songs meant to them. That wasn’t anything close to why I wrote it, but if that’s how it resonated with them then that is the most important thing.”
Alor are based in Manchester, a city Ollie describes as full of like-minded creatives and a supportive music scene. “We’re always holding each other up,” he says. “It makes it easy to create openly and freely.” Ollie began playing open mics around Hampshire and Surrey at 14, carrying his keyboard on the bus strapped to a golf trolley. He now makes his living as a session player and live performer for other artists, and writes Alor’s music as his own outlet.
Alor are set to support Sara Leanne on 30th November, plus a second single is set to follow in January 2027, with a date to be confirmed.
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