Blondie Announce New Album 'High Noon,' Out February 26 — Featuring Clem Burke's Final Recordings

New York punk institution Blondie has announced its 12th studio album, High Noon, due February 26 via BMG — the band's first new material in nine years. The 13-track record includes the final studio recordings of co-founding drummer Clem Burke, who died last year from cancer. The lead single, "Spectral Eyes," written by and featuring guitar from Johnny Marr, is out now, released on Thursday, October 15. According to NME, the album blends the band's signature mix of punk rock, dance elements and Latin rhythms.

How the album came together

Recording on High Noon began in 2022, with Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Burke working in New York with producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, The War On Drugs) — their first collaboration since 2017's Pollinator. Most of the album was completed in the New York studio before Burke's death.

The guest list includes Johnny Marr, Glen Matlock, Beirut's Zach Condon, and Lucius members Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. The track "Sleepwalking" was written by Matlock, while "Little Metal Drummer" is a reinterpretation of a song from co-founding keyboardist Jimmy Destri's debut solo album, Heart On A Wall.

Harry has called the record "classic Blondie," describing it as a fusion of the band's influences across eras into something new, while noting the music is "rooted in the present." Stein described the journey as long and strange, and said what he most wants to express is gratitude for the band's longtime support.

'High Noon' tracklist

1. "Spectral Eyes"
2. "Heartbreak Kid"
3. "Come Back Home"
4. "Tambo Tambo"
5. "Man Who Had No Face"
6. "The End"
7. "Little Metal Drummer"
8. "Sleepwalking"
9. "Whistle Into The Wind"
10. "Antifreeze"
11. "East of Eden"
12. "Bad Underwear"
13. "Ah, Sunflower, Weary of Time"

Artwork and context from the last album

The album's visual identity comes from artist and director Rob Roth, a longtime collaborator who has worked with the band since 1999's No Exit. Roth said he wanted to create something unexpected yet still "quintessentially Blondie," positioning High Noon between past, present and future with references drawn from different eras of the band.

High Noon follows last year's reissue of No Exit, the band's comeback album after a 17-year hiatus, which included the chart-topping single "Maria." That reissue marked the album's first vinyl pressing, featured updated cover art by Rob Roth, and included "Hot Shot," a track previously released only in Japan. Harry had already hinted at new material in an NME interview at the time, confirming collaborations with Marr and Matlock.