Masked U.K. rock act Clinic will release its third album at the tail end of the summer. "Winchester Cathedral" is due Aug. 23 via Universal, which picked up Clinic's 2002 set, "Walking With Thee," after its initial release by Domino. The group will preview the new material on a two-week North American tour, which kicks off May 8 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The set shares its name with a U.K. church that dates back to the 7th century. "There's an overall deranged party feel to the music broken up by several mellow Bread freak outs," the band writes on its official Web site. "A marked shift from the darker character of 'Walking With Thee.'"

The group's tongue-in-cheek humor is evident in its descriptions of the tracks. "The Magician" is said to be "the story of one person's recovery after 11 years in the wilderness to become a professional magician," while "August" is pegged as "slightly central European in character but with bar room piano and massed percussion. Impossible to dance to. The most baffling thing they've recording so far."

"Walking With Thee" reached No. 29 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart.

Here are Clinic's tour dates:

May 8: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Southpaw)
May 9: Washington, D.C. (Black Cat)
May 10: Cleveland (Grog Shop)
May 11: Detroit (Magic Stick)
May 12: Columbus, Ohio (Wexner Center)
May 13: Newport, Ky. (Southgate House)
May 14: Chicago (Abbey Pub)
May 15: Columbia, Mo. (Blue Note)
May 16: Lawrence, Kan. (Bottleneck)
May 18: Denver (Bluebird Theatre)
May 19: Salt Lake City (Liquid Joe's)
May 21: San Francisco (Bimbo's)
May 22: Los Angeles (Knitting Factory)
May 23: San Diego (Casbah)