Rialto announce first new album in 24 years, ‘Neon and Ghost Signs,’ inspired by frontman’s near-death experience

Rialto has confirmed their third album, Neon and Ghost Signs, will be released in April of this year.

The band’s third album comes after a twenty-four-year break from the studio and will be released via Fierce Panda Records on April 25. Frontman Louis Eliot, who produces the album alongside Tam Johnstone, will headline The Scala in London on May 14 with the rest of the Rialto band.

A reunion of Rialto comes over two decades on from their self-titled debut, which was released just a month after the band was suddenly dropped by their label, East West, a Warner Music Group branch. China Records released the album on July 13, 1998, instead.

But the band, which reformed in 2023, are now set to release new material for the first time since their Night on Earth album. The music, Eliot says, is inspired by a near-death experience he had six years ago while holidaying in Spain. The songwriter was just hours away from death and went into emergency surgery.

He said: “What you might think is if you have a very close to death experience you want to start looking after yourself. I just went chasing full speed after my youth. I was just like, fuck it, I might not be here next week, I’m just going to dive in.”

Rialto were a chart-topping, double-platinum success in SE Asia and a highly acclaimed cult outfit in the UK, with successes found later in East Asia. A full list of their in-store live dates can be found below.

• April 27 – Rough Trade, Bristol
• April 28 – Rough Trade, Nottingham
• April 29 – Rough Trade, Liverpool
• April 30 – Rough Trade East, London
• May 1 – Banquet Records, Kingston
• May 14 – Scala, London

A full track list for the album, which releases on April 25, can be found below.

1. No One Leaves the Discotheque Alive
2. I Want You
3. Neon and Ghost Signs
4. Taking the Edge Off Me
5. Remembering to Forget
6. Car That Never Comes
7. Sandpaper Kisses
8. Cherry
9. Put You On Hold
10. Gone

You can listen to lead single, No One Leaves the Discotheque Alive, below.