Roy Lott March 3rd, 2022 - 9:37 AM
Belle and Sebastian have announced their ninth album A Bit Of Previous, releasing May 6 on Matador. Along with the album announcement they released their first single “Unnecessary Drama.”
“The song is about a young person experimenting in being a human again after a forced hiatus”, says frontman Stuart Murdoch in a press release. “The person is weighing up whether or not it’s worth the mess! Still, you dip your toe in and it becomes delicious, and you get too much of it. Between trouble and nothing, we still choose the trouble.”
A Bit of Previous is the band’s first release in seven years and was recorded in Belle and Sebastian’s hometown of Glasgow after plans to fly to Los Angeles in spring of 2020 were scrapped due to the pandemic. It was produced and recorded by the band, with contributions from Brian McNeill, Matt Wiggins, Kevin Burleigh and Shawn Everett.
Murdoch stated “We did it together, us and the city. This record was the first ‘full’ LP recording for B&S in Glasgow since Fold Your Hands Child, 1999. We clocked in every morning, we played our songs, we wrote together, we tried new things, we took the proverbial lump of clay, and we threw it every day.”
The band also announced a new slew of tour dates, set to kick off May 24 in Asheville, NC. See the full list of dates below.
Belle & Sebastian 2022 Tour Dates
05/24/22 – Rabbit Rabbit, Asheville *
05/25/22 – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, Indianapolis *
05/26/22 – The Riviera Theatre, Chicago *
05/27/22 – Palace Theatre, Minneapolis *
05/28/22 – The Admiral, Omaha *
05/31/22 – Paramount Theatre, Seattle +
06/01/22 – Roseland Theater, Portland +
06/03/22 – Greek Theatre, Berkeley %
06/04/22 – Greek Theatre, LA %
06/05/22 – Pappy and Harriet’s, Pioneertown +
06/07/22 – The Van Buren, Phoenix +
06/08/22 – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company +
06/10/22 – The Criterion, Oklahoma City +
06/11/22 – Stubb’s Waller Creek, Austin #
06/13/22 – Ryman Auditorium, Nashville #
06/14/22 – Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh ^
06/15/22 – Wolf Trap, Vienna ^
06/16/22 – SummerStage, Central Park, NY #
06/17/22 – Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia #
06/18/22 – Roadrunner, Boston #
07/15/22 – Bristol, UK Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside
07/16/22 – Stirling, UK Cardross Estate, Doune The Rabbit Hole
11/13/22 – Cardiff, UK Great Hall – Student’s Union
11/14/22 – London, UK The Roundhouse
11/15/22 – London, UK The Roundhouse
11/17/22 – Sheffield, UK O2 Academy Sheffield
11/18/22 – Liverpool, UK Olympia
11/19/22 – Hull, UK Asylum, Hull University Union
11/21/22 – Aberdeen, UK Beach Ballroom
11/21/22 – Aberdeen, UK Beach Ballroom
11/23/22 – Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall
11/24/22 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK O2 City Hall, Newcastle
11/25/22 – Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
11/27/22 – Cambridge, UK Corn Exchange
11/28/22 – Birmingham, UK O2 Academy Birmingham
11/29/22 – Southampton, UK O2 Guildhall Southampton
11/30/22 – Brighton, UK Brighton Dome
01/10/23 – France, Paris, Casino de Paris
01/11/23 – Holland, Utrecht, Tivoli Grote Zaal
01/14/23 – Germany, Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
01/16/23 – Sweden, Gothenburg Tradgarn
01/17/23 – Sweden, Stockholm Filadelfia
01/18/23 – Norway, Oslo Sentrum Scene
01/19/23 – Denmark, Copenhagen Vega
01/21/23 – Germany, Berlin Tempodrom
01/22/23 – Germany, Munich Muffathalle
01/23/23 – Switzerland, Zurich X-tra Limmathaus
01/25/23 – France, Clermont-Ferrand, Co-op de Mai
01/26/23 – Italy, Milan Fabrique* with Divino Niño
01/10/23 – France, Paris, Casino de Paris
01/11/23 – Holland, Utrecht, Tivoli Grote Zaal
01/14/23 – Germany, Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
01/16/23 – Sweden, Gothenburg Tradgarn
01/17/23 – Sweden, Stockholm Filadelfia
01/18/23 – Norway, Oslo Sentrum Scene
01/19/23 – Denmark, Copenhagen Vega
01/21/23 – Germany, Berlin Tempodrom
01/22/23 – Germany, Munich Muffathalle
01/23/23 – Switzerland, Zurich X-tra Limmathaus
01/25/23 – France, Clermont-Ferrand, Co-op de Mai
01/26/23 – Italy, Milan Fabrique* with Divino Niño
+ with Thee Sacred Souls
% with Tennis and Thee Sacred Souls
# with Los Bitchos
+ with Japanese Breakfast and Los Bitchos
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
