Pitchfork

For most of the Trash Can Sinatras' audience-- that is, people with some interest in soulful pop or Scotland, but no Aztec Camera tattoos-- the band vanished in 1993 after releasing I've Seen Everything. Maybe they heard rumors (which are true, incidentally) that the Sinatras put out a record in 1996 which didn't even make it to the United States. A core group of listeners, though, has watched eagerly over the last few years as the band quietly resurfaced and began walking the line between rewarding their fans and taking them to the cleaners. Double CD of demos! Double CD of B-sides! Live album! Hahaha!

This approach has apparently paid off, because their first studio album in almost ten years, Weightlifting, is not only due out August 31st on spinART Records, it's coming in four forms. There's the standard 12-track album, which will be accompanied in stores by a "Deluxe Version" that features all 12 of the album's songs in their original forms, plus two of them redone acoustically, plus extra artwork, plus a bonus DVD with five Weightlifting tracks recorded live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Then there's the "Executive Edition" (full disclosure: I made that name up), which is limited to 5,000 copies and has all the frills of the "Deluxe Version," but with an additional lyric insert autographed by the band. Finally, the album will be supplemented on iTunes with three more unreleased live tracks. Here's the economy class tracklist:

01 Welcome Back
02 Got Carried Away
03 All The Dark Horses
04 What Women Do To Men
05 Freetime
06 Usually
07 It's A Miracle
08 A Coda
09 Trouble Sleeping
10 Country Air
11 Leave Me Alone
12 Weightlifting

And for the aristocrats among you:

13 All The Dark Horses (acoustic)
14 Weightlifting (acoustic)

Bonus DVD:
01 Got Carried Away
02 It's a Miracle
03 A Coda
04 Leave Me Alone
05 Weightlifting

iTunes bonus tracks:
01 Leave Me Alone (live at the Troubadour 2004)
02 The Safecracker (live on The Adventure Club 1993)
03 How Can I Apply...? (live on Morning Becomes Eclectic 2004)

The Sinatras will also return to North America in style around mid-September for a month-long tour, accompanied by fellow Scot Roddy Hart. The itinerary:

09-14 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
09-15 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
09-16 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
09-18 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
09-19 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
09-20 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
09-22 Montreal, QC - Cabaret Music Hall
09-23 Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
09-24 Ottawa, ON - Zaphod Beetlebrox
09-26 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
09-27 Chicago, IL - Double Door
09-28 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
10-01 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
10-02 Portland, OR - Dante's
10-04 Sacramento, CA - Harlow's
10-05 San Francisco, CA - Slim's
10-06 San Juan Capistrano, CA - The Coach House
10-08 Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
10-09 Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour
10-10 San Diego, CA - Cane's Bar & Grill
10-11 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater
10-13 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
10-15 Denver, CO - Lipgloss @ La Rumba
10-17 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room
10-18 Austin, TX - The Parish
10-27 London, England - The Spitz
11-04 Edinburgh, Scotland - St. Brides Centre
11-05 Glasgow, Scotland - Cottier Theatre
11-07 Aberdeen, Scotland - The Lemon Tree