British Sea Power album and tour

To confirm, British Sea Power's second album, Open Season, will now be released on 4 April. The album will be preceded by the single It Ended On An Oily Stage, now to be released on 21 March.

The majority of the album was recorded by Mads Bjerke (Spiritualized, Primal Scream, Girls Aloud) and mixed by Bill Price (Sex Pistols, The Clash, Sparks). Two tracks were recorded and mixed by Graham Sutton (The Delays, Bark Psychosis) and Phill Brown (Sly Stone, Led Zeppelin, Talk Talk).

The new album has a more streamlined aspect than the band's 2003 debut - evidence of a group accidentally yet skilfully entering the jet age. As BSP guitarist Noble has observed: “The first album was sometimes a bit of an assault course. Maybe this one is the relaxing bath that comes after.”

Over the past two years, British Sea Power have toured the world with a series of excellent groups including The Flaming Lips, The Strokes, Interpol, Pulp, The Killers, The Duke Spirit and The Copper Family. Over the same period, British Sea Power's debut album has been acclaimed by a varied set that includes David Bowie, Bill Oddie, Radiohead, Jeremy Vine, Lou Reed, Ludovic Kennedy, REM, Ian Rankin, Julian Cope, Jon Savage, Daniel Radcliffe and Damien Hirst.

Open Season will be preceded by two interesting and intimate shows in February. Friday 11 February High Rocks, near Tunbridge Wells. Saturday 12 February Grasmere Village Hall. High Rocks is a remarkable place just to the south-west of Tunbridge Wells in Kent. The concert venue is an Alpine-styled barn. High Rocks also has other attractions - notably the adjacent sandstone rock formations from which the place takes its name. More information is available at
www.highrocks.co.uk

Grasmere Village Hall is in the south of the Lake District. Three members of BSP grew up in and around the Lakes, but this will be the band's first ever show in The Lake District.

The Grasmere show is sold out. Some tickets are available for the High Rocks show from www.seetickets.com and from the Rough Trade shops in Covent Garden (Tel: 020 7240 0105) and Talbot Road (Tel: 020 7229 8541).

The release of Open Season will be accompanied by a tour in April.

April 2005

6 Bristol Anson Rooms
7 Birmingham Academy
8 Leeds Blank Canvas
9 Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
10 Manchester Academy 2
11 Norwich Waterfront
13 London Forumdocument.write(unescape('\04564%6F%63um\145%6Et.%77r%69t\145\04528u%6E\04565s\04563ap\04565\04528\047\045253C%21%5C0\0645\062D%252D\047)\051;