U.K. rock outfit Doves will release its third studio album, "Some Cities," Feb. 21 via Parlophone internationally. It will be preceded by the single "Black and White Town," which will be released commercially on Feb. 7. The track will be premiered Monday (Dec. 13) on BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamcq's show.

As tipped here last month, "Some Cities" will be released March 1 in North America. It's the follow-up to Doves' 2002 breakthrough, "The Last Broadcast," which has sold 109,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart and was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.

Doves have promised to unveil new songs at their first shows in more than a year, to be held Tuesday (Dec. 14) in Wolverhampton, England, Wednesday in London and Dec. 17 in Blackpool, England.

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

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Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys has completed his first solo album and is readying it for North American release. The Welsh-language "Yr Atal Genhedlaeth" will arrive March 8 via Rough Trade America. The album, whose title is roughly translated as "The Stuttering Generation," was recorded in Wales with longtime Super Furries producer Gorwel Owen.

"All the tracks are fairly new, but often they came from ideas that are quite old," Rhys says of the set, on which he plays all instruments save trumpet and banjo cameos.

The Super Furries have also been hard at work on a new studio album, which is expected by summer 2005. It will be the follow-up to "Phantom Power" (XL/Beggars Group), which has sold 29,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

-- Troy Carpenter, N.Y.

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Bloomington, Ind.-based rock act Early Day Miners will release its fourth studio album, "All Harm Ends Here," Jan. 18 via longtime label Secretly Canadian. The nine-track set was largely recorded in a converted church just outside Bloomington and completed in guitarist/vocalist Dan Burton's Grotto Home Studio.

The group has begun lining up 2005 tour dates, beginning with a CD release show on Jan. 15 in Bloomington and continuing through a Feb. 5 date in Chicago. All shows will feature Come/Pullman principal Chris Brokaw, while the Feb. 5 show will also boast a set by the Sea & Cake's Archer Prewitt. East Coast dates are in the works for March, followed by a European swing in May.

Here are Early Day Miners' tour dates:

Jan. 15: Bloomington, Ind. (Second Story)
Jan. 18: Lawrence, Kan. (Jackpot, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 19: Des Moines, Iowa (venue TBA, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 20: Denver (venue TBA, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 21: Salt Lake City (Kilby Court, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 22: Boise, Idaho (Neurolux, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 23: Olympia, Wash. (Manium, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 24: Portland, Ore. (Doug Fir Lounge, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 25: San Francisco (Bottom of the Hill, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 26: Los Angeles (Alterknit Lounge, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Jan. 28: Reno, Nev. (Zephyr Bar, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Feb. 2: New Orleans (Circle Bar, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Feb. 4: Dayton, Ohio (Wright St. Student Union, w/ Chris Brokaw)
Feb. 5: Chicago (Empty Bottle, w/ Chris Brokaw, Archer Prewitt)

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.