Oxford quintet Foals‘ much anticipated second album Total Life Forever will be released on May 10th, preceded on May 3rd by debut single ‘This Orient’, and to celebrate they’re gonna be hitting the road for a sizeable tour in late April and early May.

Tickets for all dates go on sale on Friday (12th March 2010) at 9am.

Thursday 29th April 2010 – Liverpool Kazimier
Friday 30th April 2010 – Newcastle University
Sunday 2nd May 2010 – Glasgow ABC
Monday 3rd May 2010 – Leeds Met University
Tuesday 4th May 2010 – Manchester Ritz
Thursday 6th May 2010 – Cambridge Junction
Friday 7th May 2010 – Nottingham Trent University
Saturday 8th May 2010 – Bristol Anson Rooms
Monday 10th May 2010 – London Electric Ballroom
Wednesday 12th May 2010 – Oxford O2 Academy
Friday 14th May 2010 – Dublin Abassador

North Wales band the Joy Formidable will be logging many miles travelled as they trek across the UK in March and April on tour. Note that four dates in Scotland originally slated for the start of the tour have been rescheduled for early April. Catch the band on the dates below.

Their new single ‘Popinjay’ is now available as a digital download, with a limited run of 500 7″ vinyl singles planned for 5 April.

Sunday 14th March 2010 – Manchester, Ruby Lounge
Monday 15th March 2010 – Liverpool, Korova
Tuesday 16th March 2010 – Nottingham, Bodega
Wednesday 17th March 2010 – Leeds, Cockpit
Friday 19th March 2010 – Cambridge, Portland
Saturday 20th March 2010 – Birmingham, O2 Academy 2
Sunday 21st March 2010 – Oxford, O2 Academy 2
Monday 22nd March 2010 – Brighton, Audio
Wednesday 24th March 2010 – London, Electric Ballroom
Thursday 25th March 2010 – Southampton, Joiners
Friday 26th March 2010 – Bristol, Start the Bus
Saturday 27th March 2010 – Cardiff, Barfly
Monday 29th March 2010 – Northampton, Roadmenders
Tuesday 30th March 2010 – Sheffield, O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 31st March 2010 – Newcastle, O2 Academy 2
Thursday 1st April 2010 – Wrexham, Central Station
Saturday 3rd April 2010 – Glasgow, King Tuts
Sunday 4th April 2010 – Inverness, Madhatters
Monday 5th April 2010 – Aberdeen, Snafu
Tuesday 6th April 2010 - Dundee, Fat Sams

MP3: The Joy Formidable – The Greatest Light is the Greatest Shade
MP3: The Joy Formidable – Cradle
MP3: The Joy Formidable – Austere
MP3: The Joy Formidable – While the Flies

Sunderland pop quintet Frankie and the Heartstrings are preparing for a short UK tour in April. Tickets range in price from £5 to £7 and available now.

Saturday 3rd April 2010 – Sheffield Leadmill
Monday 5th April 2010 – Newcastle Cluny
Tuesday 6th April 2010 – Liverpool Mojo
Wednesday 7th April 2010 – Glasgow King Tut’s
Friday 16th April 2010 – Bristol Louisiana
Saturday 17th April 2010 – Manchester Ruby Lounge

Jess introduced Chapel Club the other week, and now the fast rising stars are off on a sizeable UK tour throughout April.

Catch them at:

Wednesday 7th April 2010 – Portsmouth Cellars
Thursday 8th April 2010 – Guildford Boileroom
Friday 9th April 2010 – Oxford Jericho Tavern
Saturday 10th April 2010 – Bath Moles
Monday 12th April 2010 – Cardiff Barfly
Tuesday 13th April 2010 – Wolverhampton Slade Rooms
Thursday 15th April 2010 – Sheffield Bungalow & Bears
Friday 16th April 2010 – Liverpool Korova
Saturday 17th April 2010 – Leeds A Nation Of Shopkeepers
Monday 19th April 2010 – York Stereo
Tuesday 20th April 2010 – Newcastle The Other Room
Wednesday 21st April 2010 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Saturday 24th April 2010 – Southampton Joiners
Sunday 25th April 2010 – Cambridge Haymakers
Wednesday 27th April 2010 – London Village Underground

New York band Cymbals Eat Guitars have a five-date tour of the UK planned for later this month. Catch them at the following venues:

Thursday 18th February 2010 – Bristol Start the Bus
Friday 19th February 2010 – Liverpool Korova
Sunday 21st February 2010 – Glasgow Captain’s Rest
Monday 22nd February 2010 - Leeds Cockpit
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – London Hoxton Bar and Kitchen

Cymbals Eat Guitars’s debut album, ‘Why There Are Mountains’ (previously reviewed here on TGTF) is available now from Memphis Industries.

Continuing her meteoric rise to fame, Marina and the Diamonds have announced a 2010 UK tour playing some of her biggest venues yet.

Sunday 2nd May 2010 – Birmingham Glee Club
Thursday 13th May 2010 – Bournemouth Old Fire Station
Saturday 15th May 2010 – Brighton Concorde
Sunday 16th May 2010 – Cardiff Millenium Music Hall
Tuesday 18th May 2010 – Norwich Waterfront
Wednesday 19th May 2010 – London Bloomsbury Ballroom
Saturday 22nd May 2010 – Sheffield Leadmill
Sunday 23rd May 2010 – Manchester University
Tuesday 25th May 2010 – Liverpool Masque
Wednesday 26th May 2010 – Belfast Speakeasy
Thursday 27th May 2010 – Dublin Tripod
Saturday 29th May 2010 – Glasgow QMU
Sunday 30th May 2010 – Edinburgh Liquid Rooms
Monday 31st May 2010 – Leeds Cockpit

“Girl with guitar” Tiffany Page, who you may have caught in Jess’s Bands to Watch post last week, is hitting the road over the next few months on an extensive UK tour. She will be doing a run of gigs in smaller venues before a stint supporting the Noisettes throughout February and March. Don’t miss your chance to see the songstress with “the sassy swagger of Chrissie Hynde, Shirley Manson’s vampish purr and the hellion roar of Courtney Love” before she makes it big!

Tuesday 19th January 2010 – London, The Garage
Thursday 21st January 2010 - Guildford, Boileroom
Saturday 23rd January 2010 – Bath, Moles
Monday 25th January 2010 - Coventry, Kasbah
Tuesday 26th January 2010 - London, The Garage
Thursday 28th January 2010 - Cambridge, Portland Arms
Friday 29th January 2010 - Hampshire, West End Centre
Sunday 31st January 2010 - Birmingham, Sound Bar
Wednesday 3rd February 2010 - London, Hard Rock Cafe (supporting Pixie Lott)
Wednesday 10th February 2010 - London, The Garage (HMV show with The Cheek)
Tuesday 16th February 2010 - London, The Garage
Thursday 18th February 2010 - Aberdeen, Music Hall (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 19th February 2010 - Edinburgh, Picture House (supporting the Noisettes)
Saturday 20th February 2010 - Sheffield, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Monday 22nd February 2010 - Nottingham, Rock City (supporting the Noisettes)
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 - Cambridge, Corn Exchange (supporting the Noisettes)
Wednesday 24th February 2010 - Bournemouth, Opera House (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 26th February 2010 - Brighton, Dome (supporting the Noisettes)
Saturday 27th February 2010 - London, Roundhouse (supporting the Noisettes)
Sunday 28th February 2010 - London, Roundhouse (supporting the Noisettes)
Tuesday 2nd March 2010 - Manchester, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Wednesday 3rd March 2010 - Newcastle, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Thursday 4th March 2010 - Liverpool, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)
Friday 5th March 2010 - Bristol, Academy (supporting the Noisettes)

Liverpudlians Hot Club De Paris will be embarking on a tour in February. The string of dates finishes with a hometown gig at Liverpool’s Korova. This tour will be in support of a new six-track EP, ‘With Days Like This As Cheap As Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want To Work?’, to be released digitally by Moshi Moshi Records on 8 February, with a limited edition 10-inch vinyl version set to follow on February 22. Moshi Moshi have confirmed that a second EP, ‘The Rise And Inevitable Fall Of The High School Suicide Cluster Band’, will follow sometime later this year. I was taken by these boys as they supported Dirty Pretty Things at Shepherds Bush in 2006, so I’m bummed I’ll be missing them on this outing.

Monday 8th February 2010 – Birmingham Rainbow
Tuesday 9th February 2010 – London Lexington
Wednesday 10th February 2010 – Brighton Freebutt
Thursday 11th February 2010 – Cambridge Portland Arms
Friday 12th February 2010 - Nottingham Bodega
Saturday 13th February 2010 – Leeds Cockpit
Monday 15th February 2010 – Manchester Deaf Institute
Tuesday 16th February 2010 – York City Street Basement
Wednesday 17th February 2010 – Newcastle Cluny
Thursday 18th February 2010 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Friday 19th February 2010 – Dundee Doghouse
Saturday 20th February 2010 – Middlesborough Uncle Alberts
Monday 22nd February 2010 – Bristol Louisiana
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 – Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – Oxford Jericho
Thursday 25th February 2010 – Winchester Railway
Friday 26th February 2010 – Liverpool Korova

You can preorder Hot Club De Paris’s ‘With Days Like This As Cheap As Chewing Gum, Why Would Anyone Want To Work?’ EP at Moshi Moshi Records’s Web site.

San Diego indie rockers the Soft Pack have announced a string of dates for a February UK tour. I really enjoyed seeing them as part of the “NME Presents” tour last March in D.C., and if you’ve never seen them live, I think you’ll love their live performance too. Included in this list of 13 dates are two rescheduled ones (19 February in Manchester and 23 February in Glasgow).

Friday 12th February 2010 – London Borderline
Saturday 13th February 2010 – Southampton Joiners
Sunday 14th February 2010 – Brighton Freebutt
Monday 15th February 2010 – Bristol Cooler
Wednesday 17th February 2010 – Cardiff Barfly
Friday 19th February 2010 – Manchester Ruby Lounge
Saturday 20th February 2010 – Liverpool Korova
Monday 22nd February 2010 – Newcastle Cluny
Tuesday 23rd February 2010 – Glasgow King Tuts Wah Wah Hut
Wednesday 24th February 2010 – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Thursday 25th February 2010 – Leeds Rocket
Friday 26th February 2010 - Nottingham Bodega
Saturday 27th February 2010 – Birmingham Academy 3

One of my favourite bands of the past decade, Idlewild have announced a string of 2010 UK tour dates for March.

Tickets are on sale now at £15 each. Catch the guys at:

Wednesday 3rd March 2010 – Bristol Thekla
Thursday 4th March 2010 – Gloucester Guildhall
Saturday 6th March 2010 – Plymouth Hippo
Monday 8th March 2010 – Reading Sub 89
Tuesday 9th March 2010 – Brighton Concorde 2
Thursday 11th March 2010 – Liverpool Masque
Friday 12th March 2010 – Preston 53 Degrees