José González prepares EP, U.S. tour

Following up Veneer's U.S. release back in September, Hidden Agenda will put out a five-song EP from González, Stay in the Shade, tomorrow, January 24. Two days later, "Stay in the Shade" will be featured on "The O.C.", and, well, you know what that means. José will float on, no doubt.

Known for his similarities to João Gilberto and other dexterous acoustic guitar strummers, González also has an affinity for pop divas. You might have heard his cover of the Knife's "Heartbeats" (from Veneer) in that Sony Bravia commercial with all the bouncy balls. And now, this EP features a cover of Kylie Minogue's "Hand on Your Heart". We hope he goes for Annie next.

The EP also includes three new songs (one of which is a lengthy instrumental) and an extended version of "Stay in the Shade," which originally appeared on Veneer.

What's on Seth Cohen's iPod?:

01 Stay in the Shade
02 Down the Hillside
03 Sensing Owls
04 Hand on Your Heart
05 Instrumental

González will take his dude-with-guitar show on the road through America in March, with a stop at SXSW as well as a few dates with the Books. If the Books don't loop some of González's acoustic hooks during their set, then they have no right touring together.

One night to be confused:

01-31 Dublin, Ireland - RDS $
02-01 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire ^
02-02 Manchester, England - Academy 2 ^
02-03 Glasgow, Scotland - Oran Mor ^
02-04 Edinburgh, Scotland - Liquid Room ^
02-05 Brighton, England - Concorde ^
03-20 Los Angeles, CA - The Hotel Café *
03-21 Los Angeles, CA - Echo *
03-22 New York, NY - Joe's Pub (two shows)
03-23 Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts #
03-24 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom #
03-25 Philadelphia, PA - International House #

$ with Bell XI
^ with El Perro Del Mar
* with Astrid Swan
# with The Books, Death Vessel

José González: http://www.jose-gonzalez/
Hidden Agenda: http://www.parasol.com/hiddenagenda