It's been four years since The Wedding Present's last album El Rey came out, but for those who thought David Gedge might have disappeared into another side project or on constant tour, 2012 marks the moment when we finally get to hear their 9th studio album titled Valentina and out on 19 March 2012 more details of what the new year offers in terms of this iconic Leeds band are contained in the press release below:-

The Wedding Present will be releasing their much-anticipated eighth¹ studio album Valentina on March 19th, released in the UK on their own Scopitones label. It was recorded by the group in France, California and Brighton during 2011 and mixed by Andrew Scheps [whose past credits include Metallica, Iggy Pop and Johnny Cash].

The ten track Valentina comes four years after 2008’s El Rey, the longer than usual delay reflecting The Wedding Present’s commitment to touring and other side projects involving the group’s founding member, David Gedge.

Valentina is performed by:

David Gedge: Singing, guitars and percussion
Graeme Ramsay (co-writer with Gedge of all but one of the songs on the album): guitars, piano, harmonium
Pepe le Moko: bass and backing vocals
Charles Layton: drums and percussion

Following an album launch event at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, the band will be embarking on a month long tour of North America. This tour will be extra special because, as well as celebrating the release of Valentina, the band will be playing their classic album Seamonsters live, in its entirety. The Wedding Present recorded Seamonsters with Steve Albini in 1991.

Following the North American dates the band will also be playing Valentina and Seamonsters in Australia, Japan and Continental Europe before bringing the whole event home with an extensive tour of The United Kingdom and Ireland in the autumn.

Aside from a hiatus between 1998 and 2005 when he focused on recording and touring with Cinerama, David Gedge has been fronting The Wedding Present since 1985 when the Leeds based four piece released its debut single, “Go Out And Get ‘Em, Boy!” for its own independent Reception Records label. Since then the group have had 18 Top Forty singles.

Albums include the group’s first major critical and commercial breakthrough with 1987’s George Best and Bizarro, which provided their first hit singles “Kennedy” and “Brassneck”. Take Fountain marked the group’s return in 2005, Mojo commenting “that Gedge has never before assimilated harsh rock textures to orchestral arrangements with such power” and The Times asserting that it confirmed Gedge’s “status as an extraordinary songwriter.”

_{¹I make it eight studio albums so far, plus a couple of live ones and the Ukrainian John Peel Sessions all meaning Valentina will be number nine.}