Liverpool indie rockers The Cheap Thrills are back with their latest single, looking, a soaring and politically charged new anthem that offers another glimpse into their highly anticipated debut album, Keep Cheap, dropping on 18th September 2026.
Built around harmony-rich vocals, shimmering synths and a swaggering lyrical delivery from frontman Lewis Pike, looking gradually intensifies before breaking into a powerful spoken-word passage. Frustrated but ultimately life-affirming, the track captures the tension between feeling trapped by the world around you and recognising that change can begin from within.
The Cheap Thrills
Pike describes the song as “consciousness spoken word” that is both introspective and imaginary, imagining himself decades into the future as a pensioner stuck in a rut under Tory rule. Rather than simply dwelling on that imagined future, however, the song turns inward, ending with the realisation that the sense of being trapped is as much about his own state of mind as the circumstances surrounding him.
That tension between frustration and optimism runs throughout The Cheap Thrills‘ music. ‘looking’ manages to confront social and political pressures without sacrificing the band’s instinct for huge melodies, infectious hooks and the sheer enjoyment of playing music.
The accompanying video brings that idea into the everyday. Actor Mike Noble, known for his work in The City Is Ours, Dirty Business and Help, stars in and directs the film, which follows a character wandering through the familiar streets of Liverpool in search of something he cannot quite identify.
His journey eventually leads to a pub, where the mystery is resolved in suitably surreal fashion: The Cheap Thrills appear on the television, delivering an epic, choir-backed performance of looking.
The collaboration has a particularly personal connection for the band. Noble grew up in the same area as the members of The Cheap Thrills and attended the same high school. After hearing the track, he approached the band about creating the video, bringing his own creative interpretation to a song that already deals heavily with the monotony and uncertainty of everyday life.
Pike says working with Noble was a privilege, praising his creative vision and work ethic while joking that the actor delivered the song’s spoken-word section better than its own writer.
looking follows a run of singles that have steadily established The Cheap Thrills as one of Liverpool’s most exciting emerging acts. Their debut album Keep Cheap brings together 13 tracks that celebrate the band’s Liverpool roots while exploring themes that extend far beyond the city.
The album opens with the bright, synth-driven hairs, while run pairs jangling guitars with an underlying yearning for clarity and escape. Elsewhere, reborn helped push the band onto the indie airwaves, while codependence became particularly significant in their hometown after featuring as the soundtrack to Liverpool FC’s European kit campaign.
walton vale subsequently turned the street that helped shape the band into both a personal tribute and a wider reflection on the problems facing society.
Together, the songs chart The Cheap Thrills’ journey from teenage beginnings to a band capable of commanding major festival stages and packed headline shows. Keep Cheap promises to retain that sense of scale while keeping the band’s identity firmly rooted in the community that produced them.
The band’s live reputation has been central to that rise. They have played to overflowing festival tents at events including Glastonbury and Y Not, while their headline shows have grown rapidly in size. Earlier this month, they reached another milestone with their largest headline performance to date, playing to a capacity crowd of more than 2,000 at Liverpool’s Mountford Hall.
That momentum shows no sign of slowing. The Cheap Thrills will appear at 110 Above Festival on 22nd August before supporting The Fratellis at Tileyard North in Wakefield later in the month. September then brings a series of album-release instore performances, followed by an extensive UK headline tour throughout October.
Several dates have already sold out, including shows in Glasgow, Nottingham, Leeds, Southampton and London, underlining the demand surrounding the band’s debut album.
With Keep Cheap arriving next month, The Cheap Thrills are increasingly looking beyond their Liverpool beginnings. looking provides another indication of a band intent on combining big indie-rock ambition with sharp observations about modern life — while refusing to lose sight of the joy at the heart of it all.
Upcoming UK Live Dates:
AUGUST
22nd – 110 Above Festival, Atherstone
AUGUST – Album Instore
28th – Tileyard North, Wakefield
SEPTEMBER – Supporting The Fratellis
18th – Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool
19th – Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool
20th – Jacaranda, Liverpool
22nd – Jumbo Records, Leeds
23rd – Rough Trade East, London
24th – Wax & Beans, Bury
OCTOBER – Headline Tour
7th – SWG3 Poetry Club, Glasgow
8th – Think Tank?, Newcastle
9th – Manchester Academy, Manchester
10th – The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham
11th – Oporto, Leeds
13th – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
14th – The Croft, Bristol
15th – Heartbreakers, Southampton
16th – Barfly Camden, London
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