Belle and Sebastian announces new album ‘A Bit of Previous’ with the incredibly catchy “Unnecessary Drama”

Veteran Scottish indie pop outfit Belle and Sebastian will release their first studio full-length in seven years this spring. A Bit Of Previous is out May 6th on Matador Records, and the band announced it today with the rollicking new single “Unnecessary Drama.”

The song lands on the more rock-y end of Belle and Seb’s sonic spectrum, led by Richard Colburn’s driving drumbeat and a wailing harmomica lead by Stevie Jackson not unlike his contribution to “Me and the Major” from the band’s classic 1997 LP “If You’re Feeling Sinister.” As the band’s best songs tend to do, it builds into an incredibly catchy, ecstatic refrain sung and repeated in a grand finale by Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin.

In a press release, Murdoch talks of “Unnecessary Drama” as a means of reconnecting with ourselves, the good and the bad and the beautiful; something we’ve all been learning how to do this past year.

“The song is about a young person experimenting in being a human again after a forced hiatus. 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.”

In addition to the new song and the new album, the band announced an extensive schedule of North American and European tour that dips into 2023; check those out below, and see Belle and Sebastian’s return to Philly when they play Franklin Music Hall on Friday, June 17th. Tickets and more information on the show can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar. Pre-order A Bit Of Previous here.

Tour Dates
May-24: Rabbit Rabbit, Asheville *
May-25: TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, Indianapolis *
May-26: The Riviera Theatre, Chicago *
May-27: Palace Theatre, Minneapolis *
May-28: The Admiral, Omaha *
May-31: Paramount Theatre, Seattle +
Jun-1: Roseland Theater, Portland +
Jun-3: Greek Theatre, Berkeley %
Jun-4: Greek Theatre, LA %
Jun-5: Pappy and Harriet’s, Pioneertown +
Jun-7: The Van Buren, Phoenix +
Jun-8: The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Company +
Jun-10: The Criterion, Oklahoma City +
Jun-11: Stubb’s Waller Creek, Austin #
Jun-13: Ryman Auditorium, Nashville #
Jun-14: Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh ^
Jun-15: Wolf Trap, Vienna ^
Jun-16: SummerStage, Central Park, NY #
Jun-17: Franklin Music Hall, Philadelphia #
Jun-18: Roadrunner, Boston #
Jul-15 Bristol, UK Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside
Jul-16 Stirling, UK Cardross Estate, Doune The Rabbit Hole
Nov-13 Cardiff, UK Great Hall – Student’s Union
Nov-14 London, UK The Roundhouse
Nov-15 London, UK The Roundhouse
Nov -17 Sheffield, UK O2 Academy Sheffield
Nov-18 Liverpool, UK Olympia
Nov -19 Hull, UK Asylum, Hull University Union
Nov-21 Aberdeen, UK Beach Ballroom
Nov-23 Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall
Nov-24 Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK O2 City Hall, Newcastle
Nov-25 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
Nov-27 Cambridge, UK Corn Exchange
Nov-28 Birmingham, UK O2 Academy Birmingham
Nov-29 Southampton, UK O2 Guildhall Southampton
Nov-30 Brighton, UK Brighton Dome
Jan-10 France, Paris, Casino de Paris
Jan-11 Holland, Utrecht, Tivoli Grote Zaal
Jan-14 Germany, Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
Jan-16 Sweden, Gothenburg Tradgarn
Jan-17 Sweden, Stockholm Filadelfia
Jan-18 Norway, Oslo Sentrum Scene
Jan-19 Denmark, Copenhagen Vega
Jan-21 Germany, Berlin Tempodrom
Jan-22 Germany, Munich Muffathalle
Jan-23 Switzerland, Zurich X-tra Limmathaus
Jan-25 France, Clermont-Ferrand, Co-op de Mai
Jan-26 Italy, Milan Fabrique

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