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Andrew Bird premieres new album Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of...

Indie-folk/chamber-pop artist Andrew Bird has been on a bit of cover kick as of late, and today brought news that streak would continue with the announcement of the indecisively titled Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of... Joined by recently formed backing band Hands of Glory, Bird is delivering a full record of covers of alternative-country duo The Handsome Family, who are best known for their 2003 track "Far From Any Road" which was the True Detective season 1 theme song. The release comes a little more than 6 months after Bird's last album, the seven song EP I Want to See Pulaski at Night.

Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of... drops June 3 and you can preorder the track on Bird's site. You'll find a gorgeous, slightly rollicking cover of "Tin Foiled" here via Pitchfork and below there's a teaser trailer for the LP along with summer tour dates.

Tour Dates:

6/6 New York City, NY- BAM Harvey Theater (Studio 360 Radio Love Fest)
6/7 New York City, NW- Rough Trade
6/8-9 Washington, DC- Lincoln Theatre
6/10 Carrboro, NC- Cat's Cradle
6/12 Asheville, NC- Orange Peel
6/13 Manchester, TN- Bonnaroo

6/15 Tulsa, OK- Cain's Ballroom

6/16 Austin, TX- The Paramount Theater

6/20 Boulder, CO- Chautauqua
6/21 Telluride, CO- Telluride
7/2 Ann Arbor, MI- Power Center
7/4 Toronto, Ontario- Toronto Urban Roots Fest
7/5 Ottawa, Ontario- Ottawa Bluesfest
7/6 Montreal, Quebec- Jazz Fest
7/8 New York City, NY- Central Park Summerstage
7/10 Hanover, NH- Spaulding Auditorium at the Hopkins Center
7/11 Bridgeport, CT- The Klein
7/12 Lowell, MA- Lowell Summer Music Series
7/18 Vancouver, British Columbia- Vancouver Folk Fest
7/24 Calgary, Alberta- Calgary Folk Fest
7/26 Edmonton, Alberta - Interstellar Rodeo
8/1 Big Sur, CA- Henry Miller Library
8/2 Saratoga, CA- Mountain Winery
8/3 San Francisco, CA- Sigmund Stern Grove
9/19 San Diego, CA- Humphrey's
9/21 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl

Spoon unveiling something on June 10

Back in March indie rock quartet Spoon teased their recently completed eighth album with a short, cryptic trailer entitled "Hi". And now after the announcement of inking with label Loma Vista, the Britt Daniel led band have added to the album mystery with the above photo. Found on both their Twitter and Facebook pages, the picture offers no other details other than that the band is doing something on the date. "R.I.P." could be the name of a darker new album, a new track, or something else entirely. 

Whatever it is the band is keeping quiet, other than to tell Rolling Stone the record will accompany a summer tour. In many ways the campaign resembles Arcade Fire's masterful run-up to Reflektor with all the similar frustration of waiting. While you wait, ponder over this short clip of Spoon performing new track "They Want My Soul".

Belle & Sebastian planning new album, tour, and reissues

 

 

2014 is shaping up to be a jam-packed year for Scottish pop outfit Belle & Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch and company have been working on a ninth LP with Gnarls Barkley/Youth Lagoon/Animal Collective producer Ben Allen. Though it's currently without a title, tracklist, release date, or album cover, the band has been fastidiously documenting the recording process for the album on Instagram.

And if their first album since 2010's Write About Love wasn't enough, the sextet is plotting a tour that will include choice festival dates in: Germany, Austria, Spain, Poland, and Sweden this summer, in addition to Austin, Texas this fall. Not enough? Stuart Murdoch's directorial debut God Help The Girl, which won awards at Sundance this year, will start showing in the United States and Canada in the fall.

Finally, long-term home Matador is prepping a reissue campaign of the band's catalog. Considering the "flat production" found on the initial version of their magnum opus If You're Feeling Sinister and the overwhelming fondness for it, the move is a no-brainer.

If you're still not satisfied, watch the band briefly covering "Don't Stop Believing" and check out the aforementioned tour dates.

Tour Dates:

6/9- Vienna, Austria- Arena Wien Open Air
6/20- Neuhausen, Germany- Southside Festival
6/21- Scheesel, Germany- Hurricane Festival
6/22- Hilvarenbeek, Holland- Best Kept Secret Festival
6/25- Copenhagen, Denmark- DR Concert Hall
6/26- Norkopping, Sweden- Bravalla Festival
7/26- Costa Brava, Spain- Festival Porta Ferada
7/28- Santiago de Compostela, Spain- Plaza de la Quintana
8/3- Katowice, Poland- Off Festival
8/8- Cesena, Italy- Rocca Mallatestiana
8/10- Palermo, Italy- Ypsigrock Festival
10/3- Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Festival
10/10- Austin, TX- Austin City Limits Festival
10/31- Paris, France- Pitchfork Music Festival Paris 

Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.