It was a really tough decision as we've so much history there, but we felt the new material needed a new lease, and a new name gives us this. Same line-up, but with a different approach and sound.

We're very excited about you hearing the new material and can't wait to get back on the road and playing live. It's been amazing to have you all on board and supporting us through the years, and as a small thanks we'd like to give you an exclusive download - new track Daylight Came from Hope&Social's upcoming EP. Download it and let us know what you think. Forward the link to your friends, share the track, upload it yourself, blog it, spread it far and wide. We want as many people to hear it as possible! We'll be shooting the video for Daylight Came in the coming weeks and again, we'll make sure you get to see it first.

Hope&Social will be releasing a limited 5-track EP in July, the first offering of a year's work in the crypt, followed by an album later this year. To support the release and air entirely new material, we'll be touring throughout June (dates below).

We'll also be regularly uploading new tracks off the EP to:

www.myspace.com/hopeandsocial - Please do let us know what you think of the new songs by leaving us a comment.

Add us on myspace and our Facebook Fan Page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/HopeSocial/37959325206

To download Daylight Came click here: www.hopeandsocial.com Enjoy!

Hope&Social - Debut Live Tour - June (some venues may still have us as Four Day Hombre):

Sun 1st June : Chicago Rock Café, Manchester (Hide & Seek Festival)

Fri 6th June : Fibbers, York

Wed 11th June : Revue Bar, Soho, London (Curious Generation Night)

Sun 15th June : Blues Bar, Harrogate

Tue 17th June : New Adelphi, Hull

Wed 18th June : Night & Day, Manchester (Curious Generation Night)

Thu 19th June : Brudenell Social Club, Leeds (Curious Generation Night)

Special thanks to the lady who spoke to me after the London gig - I hope all is mended in your world and your comments and support made me want to write another 10 albums right now.

And obviously huge thanks to the legendary Brad Dangerous ("I'm a f*cking coiled spring today Si, you'd better not test me"), and iLP. It's been a pleasure boys.

The gigs...Manchester...found us flailing around without a clue, apologies if you came just to see us, please come again when we can enjoy each others company and not enter into the occasion with the apparatus and attitude of a dog fight...Mirfield: R2F winner's gig...gorgeous, thank you, thank you, thank you for your hospitality and chile...Leeds, acoustic...Don't drink Polish bottled lager Huxley, it'll end in tears and boredom...Godalming!!!...narrowly avoided the band splitting up...Southampton...A pleasure as ever...London...Hotter than the sun but a great London gig defined by it's lack of "London" audience and actually populated by reasonable human beings up for a good time...York...gig 52 at the spiritual home of FDH...Leeds...bistro dining as you've never seen it before.

So there you go. Show a little faith there's magic in the night...

What else is there to say...Please, if you can check out Lights - supported us at Fibbers on Thursday. What a voice. And a lovely guy. Well worth a look. Reminded me of Hope Sandoval if she was male. There's a thought.

Just been shown this - http://www.virb.com/fourdayhombre - it could well be another pointless "social networking" site which gives people something to do other than photocopy but I thought I'd better point it out so Peggy doesn't slap my wrists...(I would insert one of those winking face things but I've no idea how you do it and they make me want to cry).

So that's it for now...plenty to rant about soon...and some quite large news on the way I reckon but I have to get back to planet earth. Now where's my guiness...?

Simon

The last few days have been spent on a track called Sunlight Hold Me - a sort of transient sun dance, which is probably the nearest to our "old" style as any of the tracks. A 2 chord wonder imploring the greyness to lift and the sunshine arrive. Sounds great so far... We've also been working on an old one called It's Gone which anyone who saw us on the Embrace tour will have heard. It was my rank outsider for the album but the drum sound alone means it's a possible winner.

So what else is new...? We're going to be announcing a few live dates in February any day now - just a few shows because we desperately want to get out and gig again. It's been too long. The set will be half old and half new. We wrote this album with neither a care or a concern for playing them live so we have a fortnight of head scratching a blame portioning to get through soon as we learn them for the tour.

And...Ed's been working with Dinosaur Pile Up. Matt's an old friend, a brilliant musician and songrwriter and owner of some of the tightest jeans I've seen in recent years. Check him out.

Then..I've got my first ever iTunes voucher for Christmas. £15. That's about $400 for any overseas viewers. No idea what to buy, just too much out there. Saw the list of the top 50 albums you should have bought in 2007 and I think I probably owned 1 (which is In Rainbows which I still haven't listened to). So what should I buy...answers on a postcard.

Finally...We're going to be releasing a small live CD which recorded last year in the USA. It's a totally live session recorded through one (beautiful) mic in a church in Harlem. It's a gentle sort of a thing but a lovely memo of a great time for us. The provisional art work for it is shown here but it's bound to change. 5 chiefs and no Indians. You can probably pre-order it on the Alamo site

More soon...

Simon

We have, you might say, landed on our feet. Early this year we started to think about the next record and decided that all things considered - finance, family, fun - we'd have to record the next album ourselves. Furthermore, in order to capture some of the spontaneity and excitement of a new song we'd write and record in one block of time. In a church...

So here we are. It's now December, Christmas is breathing down our necks and we're well into the final sessions of recording album two. We found our church - well a crypt of a church - and it's truly fantastic. It sounds beautiful and it's been a joy to play, write and record in this space. It's all good.

Quick catch up and then we'll try and keep these updates more regular... we wrote about 18 tracks in June/July this year after spending numerous nights and long van journeys discussing what this record should "be". Sieved from the malais of many a drunken rant we had some kind of idea of what we wanted to talk about... / Englishness / no more love songs / home and what it means to we five / Springsteen / simplicity / customs / customs and excise / drunks / God / old piano / playing as a band / smiling / chanting / the press / the powers that be / touring / filling your heart with a good lung of air / free plugins / if it feels good turn it up / Fender Champ / a long list of drum fills / a child's accordion... All these things were thrown in the pot and we melded a selection of songs that I have never felt so excited about. They are real and they are us.

September saw experimental arthouse projects and work. October saw re-writing, drum tracking and jury service. November saw more experimental stuff, bass, guitars and the birth of Jason's son. And now December has us working on more (lovely) guitars (thank you so much David), keys, piano and we're in to some vocals as well. There's some fantastic stuff pouring out - progress can be slow, ProTools continues to be an angel and a pain in the f*cking arse in equals measures but pretty much everything we record sounds great in this place. I've fallen in love with my acoustic guitar all over again as well. If the house were on fire that's the thing I'd save. That and the solitaire.

One track, tentatively called Heaven Falls has all its boxes ticked on the whiteboard of justice - it's off to be mixed for a demo for Roo to take out to NYC on Friday. Two more, King of Spain and Drink the Drink should be done by the end of the week. I just hope more than anything that once it's done people get to hear it one way or another.

More soon - we'll try and get some videos and clips up but keep watching with the podcasts to see the Crypt and our progression. There's rumour of a tour as well...

Simon

So to recap, San Francisco...what a city. Arrived on Wednesday night after Denny's and 8 hours of tarmac and went straight to Mighty where we had an acoustic set using the Bose gear for the first time. It's incredible. Beautiful. I don't know how it would stand up to a full band gig but in this venue with 4 of us playing it's crystal clear for us and the audience and a joy to play through. Derek the promoter it so impressed with soundcheck (where we get to actually play for while and air Grateful and a Dave Matthews cover) that he calls everyone he knows and makes then listen through the phone to persuade them to come down. He hasn't enjoyed a band so much since the Killers turned up and did an impromptu set in December. There are a only a few for the actual gig but it feels intimate and calm - one of the occasions where the songs bridge the gap. And warm, welcoming people. One of the bonuses of touring: meeting fantastic/interesting/crazy/beautiful people. We retire to our hostel, which is filled with travelers and the sound of brief one-way friendships. We drink some beer and start to plan another US tour.

Thursday affords us some time to look around and Ed and I head to SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art). I've been before and remember it being much bigger and more inspiring than it is but it's still great to spend a few hours in. Remnants of a Matthew Barney piece where he scaled the walls dressed as General MacArthur and a huge pile of blue workshirts that we view in a closed gallery and seems to be the best piece in the building. We sit and talk through the next album some more in Haight where the hippies go to die and walk across the Golden Gate bridge. It's all good.

The night's gig isn't fantastic - way too loud and we're not on form but loads of people from the night before have come to support and that warms your heart. I wonder if people can tell it's not what it should be or if, having no previous measure, they assume that's just what we are.

And so back to LA on Friday along some of the more scenic Highway 1 and 101. It's a spectacular part of a big intangible country. Back to Cosmo's where we're staying and an incredibly generous barbecue. A random guy stumbles in to the house at 1am claiming to be a neighbour, drinking booze out of a baby cup. After some probing he says he works "in the business" and tells us he's just finished a film acting alongside Liv Tyler. They're hoping it will be the biggest grossing film of the weekend under Harry Potter when it opens later in the year. He says he plays "a killer". Next morning Ed consults the IMDB and we learn that Kip is playing Masked Man 2. Everybody's somebody in LA.

What else? Saturday we got to visit Cliff Norrell in Malibu and listen to some of his work. A great guy who can clearly mix a record in his sleep. We talk about some demos, and the ongoing process of trying to find a "space" for album 2 to live in. Dash back to Long Beach to play the Queen Mary. Well we play just in front of the Queen Mary. It's part of the Brit Bus tour and festival and it's surreal to say the least. But we're in LA and we've done what we came to. It's all about the experiences and enjoying the journey these days - it seems to be that when you stop trying to succeed and just enjoy the process that success is most likely to let you sniff its coat.

The boys miss their flight home and I go to Durango to see Mr M. It's all good.

Simon

PS - If you haven't read the book below then you should. Unless you're feeling emotionally fragile. In which case, please never read it.

We're on highway 5 just outside LA on our way to San Francisco. The sun is shining, our bellies are full of fine (and cheap) American breakfast, Grinderman are on the stereo and the morning haze is clearing to reveal the jagged California hills. We may not get paid a lot but on the whole we have some incredible experiences. God bless the people who listen. God bless the Alamo shareholders. God bless Bose.

The story so far...

It's been frenzied. I arrived in to Leeds from Poland (the Reminiscence Festival) on Saturday night at 9:00pm - spent a few much needed hours at home and then jumped in a cab with the fellas at 5:00am for Manchester airport. A VERY long journey (the only point of interest on the flight is that it takes Ed 5 minutes to pour coffee on himself and scorch his balls) with a 5 hour stop in Boston (where we bumped in to Glen from The Frames looking knackered) and we were in LAX airport. Donald Sutherland passed by, we jumped in our van and headed to the Hyatt on Sunset Boulevard. Extreme fatigue had really set in but despite the hallucinations and the tiredness-dog we went for a few late night beers in the bar next door whose main selling point was its mechanical bull. LA: it's not Poland.

And so the adventure begins. We spend the morning picking up gear - yet more beautiful guitars from Gibson (mine a BB King "Lucile") whose LA showroom also boasts Liberaci's piano. "It takes huge balls or no balls to own this piano" says our host. Back to the hotel and then off to rehearse for a few hours at Cosmo's space. We're being sponsored by Bose for this tour and part of the deal is that we'll use their new space-age-star-trek-never-thought-of-this PA system. I am skeptical at first but it is incredible. It appears to use a form of Black Magic to transport sound in the form of small seeds to your ears. Or something. Next is a radio session on Honeypot radio (listen to the session here). It's essentially a Monday night party in an office at Windswept Publishing where they get a few artists in (us, The Webb Sisters), open the drinks cabinet and press record. Great fun. We play First Word and Day By Day and generally lark about. Meet the lovely Cliff Norrell who regales us with stories of working with Michael Stipe and Bruce Springteen and whose studio we're going to visit on Friday. And today's final appointment is an acoustic gig at the Hotel Cafe. A great venue and a marvelously enjoyable gig made even better because I get to see a good old friend of mine and Mr M's that I haven't seen for 10 years. Hyatt bar and bed, via the new Arcade Fire album. Gosh it's good and it's important.

Yesterday, Tuesday. Breakfast in a 24-hour diner where the waitress' past is all too apparent in her demeanor and nervous laugh; funny at first but unsettlingly tragic. On to a TV interview in the Belage Hotel where the main MusExpo conference is held. I am surprised to hear Daylight Came on the hotel radio as I'm sitting on the toilet. Up to the roof and our first on-the-sofa rooftop interview. It's all a bit strange. Roo tells us he's had a tricky morning - post-poo in the Belage toilet as he leaned over to flush his sunglasses fell off his head and into the bowel. He thrust his hand in to retrieve them but the tumbling flush water played a mean trick and he fished out his own turd. There is no amount of hand-washing that will deal with that dirt. We tell everyone we see.

A few hours to be a tourist (the Guitar Centre, The Hollywood sign, Mann's Chinese theatre) and then on to the main event: a MusExpo gig at The Key Club on Sunset Strip. As industry gigs go it's a resounding success and only hampered by the fact that we only get half an hour to play. It makes me want to be touring the UK again with longer sets. More urgently it tells us we need to get this next album done and some new songs out. We follow the gig with another interview for what seems to be Ritalin TV and a burger in the legendary Rainbow Bar where our waitress doesn't know who Led Zeppelin are. I guess things have changed.

So that's it for now...we're heading for the Frisco Bay.

NYC was as beautiful as ever. Paris is a close rival but I struggle to think of a city I've visited which has more life, exuberance and, for want of a better word, buzz about it. "I want to wake up in a city that never sleeps". You found it. Currently hatching plans to try and spend a year there with one project or another.

Here is a synopsis of our story in New York... I'll try and make this as brief as possible.

Arrived on Manhattan at 10pm Monday, 3 hours later than planned after a 12 hour trip. (The most notable memory from the drive was a stop at an Arby's in a one-horse town called Geneva where the local paper advertised a raffle with prizes reading: 1st Shotgun (12 or 24 bore) / 2nd $25 / 3rd Ham. Oh, My America.). We check into the hotel which is a proper old flophouse and go straight up the Empire State for the benefit of the NYC virgins Rich, Ash, Ed and Paul (great bloke who works for the label in Canada and is along for the ride). It's obviously breathtaking - unless you're Canadian. Paul expresses his usual status-unchanged reaction - something that 50% of the Canadian population seem to employ as usual service. Canadians seem to split into those who think everything is AWESOME and those who think everything is just there. Both are lovely.

Onwards to Lombardi's - a pizza restaurant that both Jase and I adore - but it's closed so we find an alternative. Proprietor stinks of booze, food is average and they have a giant light-up penis on the celing which looks like a prop from Mad Max. Honestly.

The next day starts with breakfast in a diner and an argument with the waitress. She gives my 10% tip back to me saying that it's offensive to give so little and questions if we know the tipping etiquette in New York. I just walk off but later wish I'd said, "Yes, I've been here several times but you're a sour-faced self-loving arse who failed to bring me my coffee until I asked for it three times and then over-charged me. Go on, give us a smile love, it feels nice...". The rest of the day consists mainly of picking up our guitars from Gibson (where they have guitars labelled up for collection by Paul Simon and Spike Lee) and wandering around 5th Avenue and Central Park with Rich and Paul. Get to the Annex for 6:30. Good place - slight cabaret feel about it. I enjoy the set despite it feeling a bit like riding a bucking bronco due to technical/sound issues. Not a huge audience but enough to create some atmosphere. Mr Bourgeois Deviant is in so we go drink a few pints and catch up. One of the real positives of touring is you get to see old friends - even in New York. This man is a star. Paul and I head for 4am Bagel and Coffee in a diner called Sugar. I am drunk and no doubt talk shit at him but he's kind enough to listen and even talk back.

Wednesday starts with breakfast in the East Village at a place I've visited before called Mogador - just the right side of lentil munching. I love the American breakfast, it's just what the body needs after beer and not enough sleep. Rich is a wreck - he and Ed ended up drinking on the street until about 5:30am with some guy who had, erm, "taken a shine" to Rich. He spends most of breakfast, and in fact the day in the toilet. Wander through Greenwich and have a Bloody Mary in The Empire Diner. We all agree that it has been made with Agent Orange and is not fit for human consumption. Rich continues his tour of Manhattan toilets.

Head off to a recording session with Greg from The Orchard in St Mary's church in West Harlem (via a vintage guitar shop under the Chelsea Hotel which has a 1968 Fender Jaguar. It must play itself.). The church is one of the oldest in the city (it's all relative, it was built in the early 1800s) and it sounds divine. The reverb is so rich and rewarding and they also have a fantastic grand piano. We essentially just set up in front of the altar with no amps - Rich and I on acoustics, Jase and Ed through a small PA and everything is recorded through one expensive mic. Once it's all set up Greg just says play until you've had enough. So we do - probably for 2 hours. We even do Damage Done and Rocket Pack and a Dave Matthews cover. It's heart warming and important and calm. I've no idea what it will sound like (we will probably release it digitally if it's good) but it was an incredible experience. As Ed said, he almost shed a tear when we started - we're in a church in Harlem, recording our songs for a live release on our first trip to NYC. It makes the struggle worth while.

Taxi journey with a driver who sounds like a cross between Woody Allen and a bag of duty-free Regals. He regaled us with tales of driving Billy Joel, Metallica and Kiss. Arrive at the Rockwood Music Hall 10 minutes before we go on and hear the end of a set from an Irish guy with an effortlessly emotive voice. We do a 50 minute acoustic set which is lovely - relaxed and intimate. It's our last show of the tour and I just want to keep on playing.

We continue the night by walking across the Brooklyn Bridge where Bourgeois Deviant and I call Mr M to wish him a happy 30th birthday. I wish he could have been there with us. After hunting for drinks we end up with Pizza and beer just off Bowery. The guys working there look like they'll be there until the bitter end.

And so to today...mainly returning gear and shopping for presents but I did manage to get to MoMA for an hour or so. Baffled by some Gerhard Richter photo paintings, mesmerised by Jeff Wall lightboxes (although I think the exhibition missed out some important photos in favour of some throw-away pieces), inspired by the cartoon paintings of Inka Essenhigh and returned to an R B Kitaj piece I adore. I had a near religious experience in this gallery about 10 years ago when for the first time I saw Jackson Pollock's huge One: Number 31. I suddenly realised the uselessness of words in the description of great works of art. I vow to complete a piece of work I've been planning for about 6 years. I just need five grand.

And so that's it. We'll be back soon one way or another.

So what can I report from Canada today. It's 2pm and we're doing our usual morning ritual of email/blog/skype and coffee. Last night's gig was in Toronto at a venerable venue called The Horseshoe - very much like the feel and historical presence of The Duchess (God rest its soul) - but a bit bigger. It was a "new music" night so an eclectic mix of stuff - first band on Obsidiun's (yes the blackest of all the stones) drum kit was adorned with a plastic skull, second band Oh The Pretty Things were a bit Kings of Leon and jolly nice people and the third, a punk/metal outfit called The Unbelievers had an incredibly petit oriental front-woman who was at once terrifying and arousing. Perfect. The place was emptying a little when we played but we won a few over again - it's as series of small advances at the moment in all territories - gaining yards not fields in every battle - but it's all good fun and playing is a joy. We ended the night talking to the waitress about her anal fissure and videoing the discussion. I pinch myself.

And before that...

We did the tourist thing and went up the CN tower. Vertigo was tolerable and worth it for the fantastic vista. On the way down in the elevator they mention the gift shop three times in a journey which lasts 53 seconds. Had a mooch around part of Toronto - found the gallery which was closed but ended up in an independent book shop called Pages which was a goldmine of fascination. Full of pretentious arthouse stuff which I love. Read part of a book by David Lynch where he discusses some of his writing techniques and had a browse through some comic books. Read the unaffordable arts journals which I love but can't afford.

Went for a pint in a pub with Ed and Ash where the waitress asks why Ed is looking at her weird and he replies with, "It's because I like you". She leaves.

And before that...

Monday hid under a cloud of gloom for one reason or another. Never left the house. Tried to do some writing and worked on a couple of new tracks but didn't seem to get very far. Totally confused about what the new album is going to sound like at the moment but I'm desperate to shake the tags we've been given - especially the C and K words. Springsteen is the way forward, one way or another.

More writing today and then an acoustic set in Kitchener and no doubt more beef and beer...

Peace and all that.

For anyone who might read this and think we're just out in Canada getting pissed and drawing on our friends then let me put in some token information about playing as well. So where were we...?

We played back in Guelph at the Albion Hotel with The Marble Index on Friday. A really great little venue and what it lacks in size and PA it makes up for in atmosphere and character - not least from the owner Bubba. A legend of a man. It really reminds me of The Blues Bar in Harrogate which can only be good. The crowd were a bit Friday night - in that they just wanted to get pissed and dance to rock and roll but we won a few over and The Marble Index were great fun again. Rich and I got up for a blast through I Can't Stand Losing You. All good.

Man, it's cold now.

What else? Played Paddy's day in a great bar in Hamilton. Again, a party crowd who were definitely more interested in the beer - and the PA could barely be heard over the chatter but still a blast. You just have to strap on the right shoes and turn it up - remove all subtlety, give up any chance of emotional engaging with an audience, place earplugs firmly in ears and step on every peddle in front of you. Great night after as well - in the bar until closing, back to the label offices to finish off the booze with the Marble Index and then back to Ryan's house and a whole load of drunken babble. Fascinating conversation about the Inuits and their "allergy" (for want of a better word) to booze. Once again the Europeans wade in and destroy a peaceful community. If it wasn't for Modernism, football, and pop music I'd say we'd pretty much made a one-continent assault on global culture.

Sorry...back to the plan...

Day off yesterday so we did the tourist thing and went to Niagara Falls. Breathtaking as you would expect. The rest is like Blackpool without the charm. Only notable exception is the Rainforest Cafe - a huge expanse of post-modern desperation which has allowed a mock rain forest to be built inside a mall unit under the guise of a food emporium. The food is average - which is a shock for here - but the experience is straight out of Hunter S Thompson. Moving gorillas, elephants and more - all to the wrong scale - just poking out of thickly vegetated walls. Waiters are "safari guides" and everything, EVERYTHING, grinds and mauls the metaphor to within an inch of its drawn out life. The comedown is terrible.

We follow this truly unsurpassable experience by a trip to the Fallsview Casino - the hi-light of which is watching an "older" couple dancing to the bar band. This ends with the lady "grinding" on the floor, legs apart and offering all around more than an eyeful. I cry for 5 minutes and then lose $20 on Wheel of Fortune.

This tour gets weirder every day.

Simon

So we're a week in to the East-Canada tour and 2 gigs in with The Marble Index. Great band - very Strokes-like but with much much bigger balls and a desire to entertain rather than wear the right coat. Last night in London was particularly good - fair sized crowd who were really into what the night had to offer both from us and The Marble Index. I haven't enjoyed a set as much as that for a long time - and managed to do a half cover of Toledo by The Blue Nile - a song of such huge sadness and nostalgia that it makes my chest hurt when I hear it. Paul Buchanan is a demi-god in my eyes, it's a probably-never-to-be-realised ambition to write with him one day. He should never have sung on that Texas song though - I can only hope he was having an affair with Charlene whatever she's called. Dreadful.

What else is there to report? We had a very entertaining night with The Miniatures a few days ago - Ian cooked us the best steak ever - quite literally awe inspiring. Apologies vegetarians everywhere but wow. Wow. Drank far too much and ended up playing some games console version of American Idol. Bizarre. Felt like we were in Lost in Translation at one stage. Also a very interesting (yet disheartening) discussion with The Miniatures, which has since been repeated with The Marble Index, about their view of England having toured there. Shit food, threatening and violent were their over-riding impressions. Can't argue with that really. What is to become of the country?

We're trying to get some writing done but not really speeding along at the moment - few bits Jase and I have worked on which are sounding good - there's certainly a feel developing. Not sure how I'd define it yet though.

Right. Breakfast. Meat and lager. Then and interview and another gig in Guelph.

Ed's posted a load of photos from the journey so far on Flickr - take a look...

Simon

I'm writing this at 7am having spent the night at the Gibson showcase venue in Toronto at an end-of-Canadian-music-week party. Everyone is asleep but I'm wired up having taken advantage of the free booze and then laughed until I nearly soiled myself after Ash drew a mouse nose on Ed in permanent marker when he fell asleep in the van. You live for moments like that. The people at Gibson are beautiful (thank you Tina for the guitar of my dreams) but the party was strange - loads of bands, us included, looking around to see who might be famous or "someone" - totally not my scene at all but we met some very very lovely individuals - especially Arlene the bus driver. Great guitars and nice beer as well.

So Canada is pretty special. Immigration was a nightmare (Ed ended up having to clean his boots with a scrubbing brush in front of a customs officer - don't ask, we all knew it would happen) and if they're reading this we're probably about to be deported - but apart from that it's fantastic. The gig at the Mod Club last night was great - what a venue - like the City Varieties crossed with the Cockpit but with better lights and friendlier bar staff. And great to be playing again. Managed to get a partial cover of ChristianSands by Tricky into the set as well which was a joy.

Night at the IceHockey tonight as well. Does that game have any rules apart from smashing your opponent into the perspex as hard as you can? I hope not because I like it that way.

Right - we'll write more later and PodCasts are on their way - once Ed has washed the whiskers off his cheek.

Simon

PS - For those guitar geeks who care Jase and I bought FullTone pedals today. Beautiful.

Firstly, apologies for the discraceful lack of posts since October. This was brought to our attention by Roo (Alamo label manager) who asked asked if we'd split up, "because that's what it looks like on mySpace". Stop drinking champagne and get your typing gloves on.

So we're off to Canada a week today for 3 weeks - popping across to New York for a couple of gigs as well at the end of March and hopefully seeing Mr M amongst it all. It's kind of crept up on us a bit but now here it is and we're all pretty excited about it. We're playing with The Miniatures (who supported FDH on our last tour - great band, lovely people) and The Marble Index (who I'm sure are also lovely as it seems all Canadians are) - dates are on here somewhere. I'm just getting used to mySpace and it still seems to me that someone built it without a map cos nothing makes any sense and everything takes an hour to get to.

The rest of the year looks kind of busy from this angle at the moment - we've been invited over to LA for Musexpo in May and could also be touring in Europe before the summer - going to Germany and possibly Greece, nothing confirmed yet though. And we've GOT to record the next album. We managed to demo some tracks in January and we're writing more all the time - it's taking shape but slowly. Experiments in Living was painted, Fight Death was cutting and sticking - and now it feels like this one will have to be sculptured.

We were lucky enough to do a couple of gigs with The Frames last week in Leeds and London - what a pleasure that was, such a great band and a massive inspiration to us. I first saw them play at the Fleah festival in 1996 and they did literally change my life - they are, in some small way to be blamed for the stubborn will of FDH I guess. Anyway, a joy to play with them again - and so good to see them getting the success they deserve. Buy this if you don't already own it. Call yourself a music fan.

OK more soon...We'll try and be a little more regular. Honest.

Simon

Happy days indeed my friends... happy happy days....

ed x

PS I know I owe you a big old update and I will try and make it so. All usual excuses apply.