Belle and Sebastian Announce First New Album in 7 Years, A Bit of Previous

Indie legends Belle and Sebastian have announced their ninth studio album, and their first in seven years, A Bit of Previous (out May 6 via Matador). As a preview of what we can expect from the record, they’ve shared lead single “Unnecessary Drama,” along with a music video for the track directed by Kasparas Vidunas and Eric J. Liddle.

“Unnecessary Drama” is about “a young person experimenting in being a human again after a forced hiatus,” frontman Stuart Murdoch explains in a statement. “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.” The track sees the band revel in the sheer, delirious joy that radiates from pop music at its best, lyrically embracing all that life has to throw at them as time keeps slipping away: “Every awkward fumble should be framed / Strange days / Poison characters / My particular haze.”

Recorded in Belle and Sebastian’s hometown of Glasgow, following plans to record in Los Angeles scrapped due to the pandemic, A Bit of Previous will see the band tackle the topics of aging, reinvention and the band’s interest in Buddhism. As Murdoch notes on the album’s title in the same press release, “There is a firmly held belief in Buddhism that we have been reborn so many times and in so many guises that if we look around us, we are bound to see a person who has been our mother in a past life. And we are surrounded by people who have been our children. If we truly had that in our minds and in our hearts, we would drop the prejudice we had: our attitude to strangers and difficult people would alter emphatically.”

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The band are set to head out on tour following the album’s release, beginning with a North American leg through May and June that will feature Divino Niño, Thee Sacred Souls, Tennis, Los Bitchos and Japanese Breakfast in support slots on various dates. They also have plans to hit the U.K. in July and November, and Europe in January 2023.

Check out the video for “Unnecessary Drama” below, and keep scrolling for A Bit of Previous album details and a full list of tour dates. You can preorder the album here.

A Bit of Previous Tracklist:
01. Young And Stupid
02. If They’re Shooting At You
03. Talk To Me Talk To Me
04. Reclaim The Night
05. Do It For Your Country
06. Prophets On Hold
07. Unnecessary Drama
08. Come On Home
09. A World Without You
10. Deathbed Of My Dreams
11. Sea Of Sorrow
12. Working Boy In New York City

A Bit of Previous Art:

Belle and Sebastian Tour Dates:

May
24 – Asheville, NC @ Rabbit Rabbit *
25 – Indianapolis, IN @ TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park *
26 – Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre *
27 – Minneapolis, MN @ Palace Theatre *
28 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral *
31 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre +

June
01 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater +
03 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre %
04 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre %
05 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s +
07 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren +
08 – Santa Fe, NM @ The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company +
10 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion +
11 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek #
13 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium #
14 – Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater ^
15 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap ^
16 – New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage #
17 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall #
18 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner #

July
15 – Bristol, UK @ Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside
16 – Stirling, UK @ Cardross Estate, Doune The Rabbit Hole

November
13 – Cardiff, UK @ Great Hall – Student’s Union
14 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
15 – London, UK @ The Roundhouse
17 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy Sheffield
18 – Liverpool, UK @ Olympia
19 – Hull, UK @ Asylum, Hull University Union
21 – Aberdeen, UK @ Beach Ballroom
23 – Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
24 – Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ O2 City Hall Newcastle
25 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy
27 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
28 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Birmingham
29 – Southampton, UK @ O2 Guildhall Southampton
30 – Brighton, UK @ Brighton Dome

January
10 – Paris, FR @ Casino de Paris
11 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli Grote Zaal
14 – Hamburg, DE @ Laeiszhalle
16 – Gothenburg, SE @ Tradgarn
17 – Stockholm, SE @ Filadelfia
18 – Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
19 – Copenhagen, DK @ Vega
21 – Berlin, DE @ Tempodrom
22 – Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
23 – Zurich, CH @ X-tra Limmathaus
25 – Clermont-Ferrand, FR @ Co-op de Mai
26 – Milan, IT @ Fabrique

(* = with Divino Niño)
(+ = with Thee Sacred Souls)
(% = with Tennis and Thee Sacred Souls)
(# = with Los Bitchos)
(+ = with Japanese Breakfast and Los Bitchos)