Pitchfork

El Rey, the latest full-length from indie vets the Wedding Present, hits shops May 20 in North America via Manifesto and May 26 in the rest of the world via Vibrant.

Recorded by Steve Albini at Chicago's Electrical Audio, the disc bears a bit of the mark of Wedding Present frontman David Gedge's newish surroundings in L.A. in its lyrics. And, of course, there's some steely wisdom buried in El Rey's grooves. The set is the first collaboration between the band and Albini since 1991's Seamonsters LP, and a UK digital single for album track "The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend" is available now via Vibrant.

In other Wedding Present news, a DVD of the band's November 20, 2005 performance at London's Shepherds Bush Empire was released last month by Secret Records. And just in case the takeaway version doesn't hack it for you, the band has a handful of UK dates coming along, with the promise of a North American tour to follow in the fall.

El Rey:

01 Santa Ana Winds
02 Spider-man on Hollywood
03 I Lost the Monkey
04 Soup
05 Palisades
06 The Trouble With Men
07 Model, Actress, Whatever...
08 Don't Take Me Home Until I'm Drunk
09 The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend
10 Boo Boo
11 Swingers

The Wedding Present:

05-26 Exeter, England - Hub *
05-27 Shrewsbury, England - Buttermarket *
05-29 Norwich, England - Waterfront *
05-30 Brighton, England - Corn Exchange *
07-25 Swindon, England - 12 Bar
07-26 Ripley, England - Indietracks Indiepop Festival
07-26 Blackpool, England - Tower Lounge
09-05 Isle of Wight, England - Bestival

* with Dawn Landes