That most joyous of communes, the Polyphonic Spree have announced a slew of headline dates, aside their Playground Weekender Appearance.

The Tim DeLaughter led band were last in Australia for the 2008 Splendour in the Grass, back when they were pushing their third record The Fragile Arrmy. This time they return to our shores on the cusp of a new album. Some of which DeLaughter has been posting on the band's blog in demo form. Co-founder (and partner to DeLaughter) Julie Doyle told US mag Metromix back in August that the new tunes that the Spree are working on - which one presumes we'll get a swag of by the time February rolls around - are currently less bombastic than we're used to hearing from the band.

"We're approaching it completely different this time. Tim's always been pretty much the songwriter of the group, but this time actually, the band's been off for quite some time and he's just been writing starting out with the lyrics, which usually he puts the lyrics last or they're improvised and later kind of tweaked, if you will, and this time it's reversed out, he's written the lyrics and then putting the music around it. And at this point, it's still really, really, really stripped down, even to us, to him and to me, and except for what we put up on our blog no one in the band's even heard it. So, it's going to be interesting.

We're getting his main vocal and basic guitar structure down and then we're going to build the band around it, as opposed to all of this preproduction and typically getting drums, bass, guitar where you layer it up and then you finally get to the vocals, so it's going to be kind of inside out so it's pretty cool; (we're) pretty excited about it, because it's kind of putting everybody in a different comfort zone and that's a good thing, because it's kind of like you don't ever want to make the record you just made, you know?"

We know. The band hit Australia in February at the behest of Southern Comfort. Support comes from The New Orleans Bingo! Show. Whom are, according to the press release:

...a multimedia stage experience that includes original black and white silent films, dancers, ingénues, audience interaction, bingo games, slapstick comedy and shady characters who remind you that every stage door opens into a dark alley. Ringleader – or ringmaster – Clint Maedgen, a Louisiana native and sixteen-year New Orleans resident, describes the show as “a wild nightmare hidden in a heart-shaped box of chocolates. I last saw it riding a fiery stallion, headed down that golden highway of dreams.

Sign. Me. Up.

Dates below:

POLYPHONIC SPREE - AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2010
support from The New Orleans Bingo! Show

Tickets on sale now

Friday 19th February - Brisbane Powerhouse Brisbane QLD
Tickets $39 + BF (07) 3358 8600 www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

Saturday 20th February - Playground Weekender Sydney NSW
www.playgroundweekender.com.au

Wednesday 24th February - Thebarton Theatre Adelaide SA
Tickets $39 + BF www.venuetix.com.au (08) 8225 8888.

Friday 26th February - Fremantle Arts Centre Fremantle WA
Tickets $ 39 + BF www.heatseeker.com.au

Saturday 27th February - The Forum Theatre Melbourne VIC
Tickets $ 39 + BF www.ticketek.com.au