Ex-Stands frontman Howie Payne has just announced details for his forthcoming album. His new record Mountain - due for release on October 27 - is the much-anticipated follow up to his Ethan Johns-produced debut Bright Light Ballads, which went #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter chart. Howie is trailing the announcement with this new tune 'High Times', which follows the Radio X-playlisted single 'The Brightest Star'.

Speaking about Mountain, Howie says; "We recorded it in just four days, and pretty much live, during one of the hottest weeks of the year, and you can hear it in the sound, like the voltage is heavier, and the air is thicker in the silence between the instruments."

With fans including Noel Gallagher and Bill Ryder-Jones, Howie's old band The Stands burnt brightly but briefly during their 2002-2005 lifespan, spawning a string of five UK top 40 singles and several support slots with Oasis- Howie will soon be releasing a limited edition vinyl boxset to draw together the band's full back catalogue. The release of Mountain will follow a 10 date headline tour from Howie, including London's The Borderline on October 28.

The 12-time BBC Folk Award winner and ex-Bellowhead frontman, Jon Boden has just shared his new single ‘All The Stars Are Coming Out Tonight’. This comes in advance of his new solo album Afterglow which arrives on October 6 via Hudson Records. Speaking about the new track, Boden says: “Without easy access to electric light and with a shortage of oil, our lives will again become bounded by the astronomical cycle of the universe, and our relationship with the stars will become closer, uninhibited by artificial light pollution. I wanted the stars to have a big presence in the album, particularly Orion who, as a 'hunter', is someone who our hero identifies with as he searches the city for a girl he knew once but hasn't seen for many years.”

Afterglow is Boden's first album since disbanding Bellowhead, a project which saw over a quarter of a million album sales, seven singles on the Radio 2 playlist and worldwide sell-out shows including the Royal Albert Hall. Jon recently curated the Cambridge Folk Festival where he debuted tracks from the new album, & he'll be taking Afterglow on tour as a solo artist and with his band The Remnant Kings this autumn.

There's a touch more below, but Afterglow (Boden's first release for Hudson Records) is the second part of a post-apocalyptic album trilogy from Jon, following 2009's Songs From The Floodplain, which explored life in a post-peak oil future.

Tour Dates

Jon Boden - Solo - November

Mon 6th Pocklington Arts Centre

Tues 7th The Core at Corby Cube

Weds 8th OPEN, Norwich

Thurs 9th Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot

Fri 10th Connaught Theatre, Worthing

Sun 12th Theatre Royal Winchester

Mon 13th Number 8, Pershore

Tues 14th Ludlow Assembly Rooms

Jon Boden & The Remnant Kings dates - November

Fri 17th Sage Gateshead

Sat 18th The Leadmill, Sheffield

Sun 19th Victoria Hall, Settle

Mon 20th Haverhill Arts Centre

Tues 21st St. Mary’s in the Castle, Hastings

Weds 22nd The Scala, London

Thurs 23rd The Lighthouse, Poole

Fri 24th The Globe, Cardiff

Sat 25th The Cheese & Grain, Frome 

Sun 26th Lincoln Performing Arts Centre