Billy Bragg announces ‘Tooth & Nail’ album, U.S. tour — download ‘Handyman Blues’

Alt-folkie Billy Bragg today announced he’ll release his first new album in five years this in March — the Joe Henry-produced Tooth & Nail, which he compares to his Mermaid Avenue records with Wilco — and then follow that with an extensive North American tour that’ll keep him on the road until early May.

The 12-track album is due out March 18 in the U.K. and March 19 in the U.S. in CD, CD/DVD and vinyl formats, and was recorded over five days in Pasadena, Calif., with Henry at the helm and a group of musicians who’ve played with Bon Iver, Regina Spektor and Lana del Ray. The resulting album is being billed as “a return to the rootsy sound of 1988’s Mermaid Avenue sessions.”

Bragg says: “In 2011, I took a long, hard look at who I am and what I do. This album is the result.”

Below, you can check out the full tracklist for Tooth & Nail, watch a video of Bragg performing with his new band and introducing the forthcoming LP, and download a free MP3 of first single “Handyman Blues” in exchange for an e-mail address. Also, check out the itinerary for Bragg’s 28-date spring tour, which opens March 23 in Denver and runs through May 1 in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Tracklist: Billy Bragg, Tooth & Nail

1. “January Song”
2. “No One Knows Nothing Anymore”
3. “Handyman Blues”
4. “I Ain’t Got No Home” (Woody Guthrie)
5. “Swallow My Pride”
6. “Do Unto Others”
7. “Over You” (Bragg/Henry)
8. “Goodbye, Goodbye”
9. “There Will Be A Reckoning”
10. “Chasing Rainbows”
11. “Your Name On My Tongue” (Bragg/Henry)
12. “Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better Day”



Billy Bragg North American tour dates:

March 23: Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO
March 24: KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
March 26: The Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
March 28: El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
March 29: Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
March 30: McNear’s Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, CA
April 2: Aladdin Theater, Portland, OR
April 3: Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
April 4: Alix Goolden Hall, Victoria, BC
April 5: Vogue Theater, Vancouver, BC
April 6: Live at the Royal, Nelson, BC
April 8: MacEwan Hall, Calgary, AB
April 9: Orr Centre, Regina, SK
April 10: Garrick Centre, Winnipeg, MB
April 12: City Winery, Chicago, IL
April 13: City Winery, Chicago, IL
April 15: The Englert Theatre, Iowa City, IA
April 17: The Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN
April 19: Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
April 20: Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA
April 21: WVU Creative Arts Center, Morgantown, WV
April 22: Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, VA
April 24: The Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
April 26: State Theatre, Ithaca, NY
April 27: Town Hall Theatre, New York, NY
April 28: Berklee Perfomance Center, Boston, MA
April 30: The Southgate House Revival, Cincinatti, OH
May 1: The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

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• Stream: Billy Bragg, ‘Song of the Iceberg’ — new track about iceberg that sank Titanic
• Billy Bragg to celebrate Woody Guthrie with ‘Mermaid Avenue’ sets on U.S. summer tour
• Free MP3: Billy Bragg, ‘Never Buy the Sun’ — protest song about News of the World scandal
• Photo: Billy Bragg and Morrissey — in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt — circa 1985
• Video: Billy Bragg, Florence and Machine perform Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’
• Billy Bragg reunites The Clash’s Mick Jones, Topper Headon for ‘Jail Guitar Doors’