Pitchfork

It's hard to believe that with everything that's been going on in the last six years, there's been no Billy Bragg album to rail against it. Bragg's last full-length, England, Half English, dropped back in the comparably normal 2002. But things being what they are in the incomparably weird 2008, Billy couldn't keep his big mouth shut. That's awfully good news.

Cooking Vinyl will release Bragg's Mr. Love & Justice March 3 in the UK, while Anti- serves up the North American edition April 22. So what's Billy on about this time? Well, love and justice, of course, and the relationship between beloved television personalities and cancer causing agents, if "The Johnny Carcinogenic Show" is any indication. Also: politics and stuff.

Billy will be joined on vocals by fellow elder statesman Robert Wyatt for album opener "I Keep Faith", while Small Faces ivory-tickler Ian McLagan contributes a little organ and piano as a member of Billy's backing band, the Blokes. What's more, there are two versions of Love & Justice on the way: one is a single disc of Bragg backed by his Blokes, while the other is double-disc set with the Blokes LP and Billy performing the same songs by his lonesome.

Billy's got one more Australian tour date to attend to before heading back to the UK for a couple more. He'll then make his way to the U.S., dropping in at the Anti- label SXSW showcase. A few European dates and a return to the UK will follow.

Mr. Love & Justice:

01 I Keep Faith
02 I Almost Killed You
03 M For Me
04 The Beach Is Free
05 Sing Their Souls Back Home
06 You Make Me Brave
07 Something Happened
08 Mr. Love & Justice
09 If You Ever Leave
10 O Freedom
11 The Johnny Carcinogenic Show
12 Farm Boy

Bragg:

02-04 Fremantle, Australia - Fly by Night
02-18 London, England - HMV Oxford Street (in-store) #
03-04 London, England - Roundhouse
03-13-15 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-16 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom *
04-11 Oslo, Norway - Klubbscenen (Novafest)
04-12 Stockholm, Sweden - Sodra Teatern
04-14 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
04-15 Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
04-16 Berlin, Germany - Passionkirche
04-23 London, England - Barbican Hall (Still Looking for a New England event)
04-24 Bristol, England - Colston Hall
04-25 Birmingham, England - Birminghan Town Hall
04-27 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
04-29 Gateshead, England - The Sage
04-30 Sheffield, England - Sheffield City Hall
05-02 Liverpool, England - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
05-03 Reading, England - Hexagon
05-04 Lincoln, England - The Engine Shed
07-19 Wareham, England - Camp Bestival ^
07-20 Wareham, England - Camp Bestival
08-01 Cambridge, England - Cambridge Folk Festival
08-02 Cambridge, England - Cambridge Folk Festival ^

# with KT Tunstall
* performing with the Pogues
^ with the Imagined Village