Pitchfork

With three ladies, three keyboards, a drum machine, and a name like that, you'd think Brooklyn trio Au Revoir Simone concoct some kind of dispassionate French-language electroclash.

But quite the opposite is true: the femmes of Au Revoir instead conjure warm, evocative sounds from their instruments, rife with sentiment, and pretty much perfect for a lovey-dovey holiday of your choosing. Plus they sing in that most romantic of languages, Americanized English.

On May 15, Au Revoir Simone treat U.S. audiences to The Bird of Music, their self-released (in the U.S. at least, via their own Our Secret Record Company) sophomore LP and follow-up to last year's Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation. That's a far cry from Valentine's day-- but wait! Folks around the world have numerous options for snapping up The Bird well before May. Check it: mainland Europe gets the disc on February 19, while digital retailers have it February 26 and the UK (via Moshi Moshi) has it on March 5. Japan joins the release fray in April.

UK audiences also get single "Fallen Snow" on Februrary 19 thanks to Moshi Moshi. Moshi Moshi delivering Au Revoir! That's linguistically funny! Plus you can of course download Bird of Music opener "The Lucky One" over in Forkcast (or, hell, below).

Finally, the ladies hop on their shiny red bicycles this month for a tour across Europe that eventually lands them back in the U.S.

The Bird of Music:

01 The Lucky One
02 Sad Song
03 Fallen Snow
04 I Couldn't Sleep
05 A Violent Yet Flammable World
06 Don't See the Sorrow
07 Dark Halls
08 Night Majestic
09 Stars
10 Lark
11 The Way to There
12 Fallen Snow (Age of Rockets Remix)

Bon Voyage Simone:

02-16 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
02-17 Gothenburg, Sweden - Storan
02-18 Oslo, Norway - Blå
02-19 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
02-20 Hamburg, Germany - Haus
02-21 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Paradiso
02-22 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
02-24 Paris, France - La Maronquinerie
02-26 London, England - Hoxton Bar and Grill
02-27 Glasgow, Scotland - Nice and Sleazy
02-28 Dublin, Ireland - Whelan's
03-02 Cologne, Germany - Studio 672
03-03 Berlin, Germany - Bastard
03-04 Leipzig, Germany - Nato
03-06 Munich, Germany - Atomic Cafe
03-07 Milan, Italy - Casa 139
03-09 Düdingen, Switzerland - Bad Bonn
03-18 Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
03-19 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
03-21 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
05-25 Austin, TX - Emo's
05-29 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey
06-01 Portland, OR - Doug Fir
06-02 Seattle, WA - Crocodile Cafe
06-05 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock
06-06 Grand Rapids, MI - Intersection
06-07 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
06-08 Toronto, Ontario - Sneaky Dee's
06-11 Cleveland, OH - Beachland
06-12 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar
06-13 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06-14 Boston, MA - Middle East
06-15 New York, NY - Webster Hall