Belle & Sebastian Confirm New Album ‘A Bit Of Previous’ & Share Single

Belle & Sebastian announced the upcoming release of a new studio album entitled A Bit Of Previous via Matador on May 6. The Scottish band previewed the LP with lead single “Unnecessary Drama” and also laid out plans for an extensive world tour that includes dates in North America between May 24 and June 18.

A Bit Of Previous marks the seven-piece ensemble’s ninth studio album and first full-length LP since 2015’s Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance. Belle & Sebastian prepped the 12-track set in their hometown of Glasgow. The band produced and recorded A Bit Of Previous themselves with contributions from Brian McNeill, Matt Wiggins, Kevin Burleigh and Shawn Everett.

“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,” explained frontman Stuart Murdoch. “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 resulting album is described in press materials as, “one the most diverse and thrilling entries in Belle and Sebastian’s catalogue.” A Bit Of Previous also features “big, occasionally delirious pop moments” according to a press release.

Belle & Sebastian launch the North American leg of their world tour at Rabbit Rabbit in Asheville, North Carolina on May 24. Additional dates follow in Indianapolis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), Berkeley (California), Los Angeles, Pioneertown (California), Phoenix, Santa Fe (New Mexico), Oklahoma City, Austin, Nashville, Raleigh (North Carolina), Vienna, New York City, Philadelphia and Boston through June 18.

“Unnecessary Drama” arrived with an accompanying video. “The song is about a young person experimenting in being a human again after a forced hiatus,” said Murdoch. “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.”

Watch Belle & Sebastian’s “Unnecessary Drama” video below:

A Bit Of Previous Tracklist

1. Young And Stupid
2. If They’re Shooting At You
3. Talk To Me Talk To Me
4. Reclaim The Night
5. Do It For Your Country
6. Prophets On Hold
7. Unnecessary Drama
8. Come On Home
9. A World Without You
10. Deathbed Of My Dreams
11. Sea Of Sorrow
12. Working Boy In New York City