Frightened Rabbit, inaugural winners of our Readers Poll Album of the Year are to release a new, acoustic, live album on 30th March 2009 via Fat Cat.

An auxiliary cast of guest musicians (including The Twilight Sad’s James Graham, Glasgow’s scene hero Ross Clark and Adam Pierce of Mice Parade on the mixing board) are also on show.

This live recording will be accompanied by a March 2009 tour - a series of dates aimed towards resemblance to the intimacy of ‘Quietly Now!…’.

In addition, Frightened Rabbit’s Christmas Single, ‘It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop’ is out this week.  They are performing tonight through the weekend with Biffy Clyro, before heading to America for a headline jaunt in January.

Tourdates:
March 27th – The Castle Keep, Newcastle
March 28th -  The Canteen, Barrow
March 29th – The Musician, Leicester
March 30th -  Glee Club, Birmingham
March 31st – The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
April 15th  -   Scala, London (full electric show – headline)

Photo by Lucy Johnson

Morrissey has announced three UK live dates for May 2009 when he will play London’s Royal Albert Hall on the 11th and two nights at Manchester’s Apollo on 22nd and 23rd.

Tickets for all three shows went on sale today, Friday 5th December, at 10am (see ticket info below).

Morrissey’s new studio album Years of Refusal will be released on 16th February 2009 on Polydor/Decca. That’s the album artwork for it up there… I’m sure there’s fan busily analysing what it means as we speak. It will be preceded by the single ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’ one week prior. The single will be supported by two new songs ‘Because Of My Poor Education’ and ‘Shame Is The Name’, the latter featuring additional vocals by Chrissie Hynde.

Years of Refusal was completed earlier this year at Conway Studios in LA with the late Jerry Finn, producer of Morrissey’s acclaimed 2004 UK No.2 album You Are The Quarry. Morrissey describes the new album, the follow up to 2006’s Ringleader of The Tormentors, as his strongest work to date. The 12-track album includes a clutch of new songs played live in recent months including ‘I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris’, ‘Something Is Squeezing My Skull’, ‘Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed’ and ‘One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell’.

May
Monday 11th - London Royal Albert Hall - 0207 589 8212
Friday 22nd - Manchester Apollo - 0844 477 7677
Saturday 23rd - Manchester Apollo - 0844 477 7677

Tickets are £42.50 / £37.50 / £30 London and £32.50 Manchester

Also available at www.gigsandtours.com 24 hr cc hotline 0871 2200 260

Photo by Lucy Jonhston

In conjuction with a handful of shows in December to coincide with the release of their brand new single ‘Old White Lincoln’, The Gaslight Anthem have just announced a string of dates in February of next year.

December
3rd       Glasgow Garage
4th        Manchester Academy 3
5th        London LA2

February
2nd    Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
3rd    Birmingham Academy
4th    Manchester Academy 2
5th    Bristol Academy 2
6th    Brighton Concorde
8th    London Shepherds Bush Empire

March
2nd    Norwich Waterfront
3rd    Nottingham Rock City
4th    Dublin The Academy

The beginning of next year looks to be tour-tastic by the number of bands gracing these shores to banish the new year blues.

First up, Of Monteal have revealed plans for a European tour:

January 2009
20 Germany Berlin Kesselhaus
21 Holland Amsterdam Paradiso
22 Belgium Brussels Rotunde
23 Holland Utrecht Tivoli
24 UK Brighton Digital
26 UK Glasgow Oran Mor
27 N Ireland Belfast Kitten Tree
28 Ireland Dublin Button Factory
29 UK Manchester Club Academy
30 France Lille Aeronef
31 France Paris Bataclan

Februay 2009
1 France Strasbourg Laiterie

Then Late of the Pier have decided to tour the UK in February, tickets are on sale now for these:

February 2009

3rd BATH Burdalls Yard
4th EXETER Phoenix
5th WOLVERHAMPTON Civic Hall
7th SHEFFIELD Leadmill
8th GLASGOW Oran Mor
9th ABERDEEN Moshulu
11th MIDDLESBROUGH Empire
12th LEEDS Metro
13th DERBY The Royal
14th MANCHESTER Academy 2
16th OXFORD Zodiac
17th LONDON Forum
18th BRIGHTON C2
20th PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms
21st HITCHIN Remix
22nd CAMBRIDGE Junction

The every great, Emmy The Great, has announced an extensive tour around the UK for the beginning of next year in support of her debut album.

Tonight she’s playing Rough Trade East from 6pm, it’s free to get in and apparently Euan will do a little dance. Nice.

The debut album is to be called First Love and will be released on 2nd February. We, at TLOBF Towers, can’t wait…

JAN
31 - Oxford Academy

FEB
01 - Exeter, Phoenix
02 - Brighton, Komedia
03 - Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach
05 - Gloucester, Guildhall
06 - Bath, Chapel Arts
07 - Reading, South Street
09 - Norwich, Arts Centre
10 - Colchester, Arts Centre
11 - Nottingham, Bodega
12 - Liverpool, Academy 2
14 - Glasgow, King Tuts
15 - Aberdeen, Moshulu
16 - Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire
17 - Newcastle, Cluny
19 - Sheffield, Plug
20 - Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
21 - Hull, Adelphi
22 - Stoke, Sugarmill
24 - Manchester, Ruby Lounge
25 - Birmingham, Glee Club
26 - Bristol, Fleece
27 - London, ULU

The Swn Festival has announced the almost-full band line-up for this year’s event. Chosen by BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens, the line-up is packed with eclectic artists. Bar a dozen or so acts to be confirmed in the next week, the full line-up is below:

James Yuill
Golden Silvers
Martin Carr
Voluntary Butler Scheme
Skatar
The Big Pink
It Hugs Back
Amazing Baby
The Boy Least Likely To
Rolo Tomassi
The Pipettes
Young Marble Giants
Tubelord
Dananananaykroyd
Cats In Paris
Indian Jewlry
Pete And The Pirates
Legowelt
Thomas Tantrum
Volcano
The Chapman Family
The New Tea Party
Agaskodo Teliverek
Flashguns
The Lovely Eggs
Jay Jay Pistolet
Peggy Sue
Clinic
Serafina Steer
Stephen Fretwell
Das Wanderlust
Ox Eagle Lion Man
Connan Mockasin
Pixel H8
Broken Records
Johnny Foreigner
Chew Lips
Chipmunk
Eugene McGuiness
John Head
Pete Greenwood
King Cannibal (Ninja Tune)
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
SJ Esau
Thomas Truax
Skinnyman
Jamie And The Lionhearts
Truckers Of Husk
Gallops
Sweet Baboo
Dufraine
The Last Republic
Rod Thomas
Euros Childs
Future Of The Left
Gwyneth Glyn
Threatmantics
MC Saizmundo
Little Eris
HUW MM
LLWYD
Derwyddon Dr Gonzo
Danblagroyd
Eilir Pierce
Picture Books In Winter
Zwolf
The Ash And The Oak
Butterflies With Beards
Friends Electric
Random Elbow Pain
Lifting Gear Engineer
Pagan Wanderer Lu
Hemme Fatale
Wrightoid
Georgia Ruth Williams
Alex Dingley
High Contrast
Little My
Joy Formidable
Fred Jones
The School
Goldie Lookin Chain
Yucatan
The Muscle Club
Seindorff
John Mouse
Valley Lines
ORCOP
The Hidden Persuader
Acid Casuals
Frederick Stanley Star
Attack + Defend
Genod Droog
Nia Morgan
Lindsey leven
The Afternoons
Y Diwygiad
Yr Ods
MC Mabon (DJ Set)
Zail
Cate Le Bon
Ectogram
Klaus Kinski
The Stilletoes
Evils
PSI
Vito
James St James
The Fuzz Birds
Sild
Yellow Moon Band
Richard James
Camera
Mac
Radio Luxembourg
Blue Wall
Right Hand, Left Hand
Jen Jeniro
Metabeats (DJ)
Beatbox Fozzy
Colorama
Dead Residents
Chrome Kids
Fernhill
Silence At Sea
Mr Huw
Telegram From The Queen
Cyrion

Swn wristbands are now available from the following outlets:

www.sebon.co.uk
The Gate, Roath, Cardiff, buy online at www.thegate.org.uk or by phone on 02920 483344

In person from:
Spillers Records, 02920 224905, The Hayes, Cardiff
The Point, 02920 460873, Mount Stuart Square Cardiff
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff