Not sure how I missed this earlier, but apparently Austin, Texas’ The Old 97′s are set to release their eighth studio album, The Grand Theatre Volume One, on October 12th.

I was a huge fan of the band in the late 90′s and early part of the 00′s, but after a couple of lackluster albums and a multi-year hiatus, I stopped following them as closely as I had. Thankfully, 2008′s Blame It On Gravity was a bit of a return to form, and the first two tracks from The Grand Theatre are even better. Check out both songs, “Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)” and “A State of Texas”, at the band’s MySpace or Facebook pages.

The band has a number of live dates scheduled in support of the new album, but sadly no Chicago date as of now. Granted, they were just in town last month, but that was a weird show at Navy Pier on the first night of Pitchfork Fest. I’d love to see them come back and play Lincoln Hall. And soon.

Old 97′s Tour Dates
10/12: Dallas, TX (Borders – Greenville Ave.)
10/13: Austin, TX (Waterloo Records)
10/14: Houston, TX (Cactus Records in-store @ 5:30pm)
10/14: Houston, TX (Continental Club)
10/22: Carrolton, TX (Festival at the Switchyard)
12/2: Oxford, MS (The Lyric)
12/3: Little Rock, AR (Revolution Music Room)
12/4: Nashville, TN (Mercy Lounge)
12/7: Towson, MD (Recher Theatre)
12/8: New York, NY (Bowery Ballroom)
12/9: New York, NY (Bowery Ballroom)
12/10: Brooklyn, NY (Music Hall of Williamsburg)
12/11: Philadelphia, PA (Theatre of Living Arts)