Capitol Records' release schedule will have a British flair in March, when the label will issue highly anticipated, as-yet-untitled new albums from Coldplay and Doves, Billboard.com has learned. Doves' set will arrive March 1; the Coldplay album does not have a definitive street date.

Produced by Ken Nelson, who was behind the boards for the band's two prior studio sets, the Coldplay album was recorded in London and New York. It's the follow-up to 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head," which peaked at No. 5 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 3.5 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


Frontman Chris Martin acknowledged in a summer radio interview that fatherhood had put a new spin on his songwriting. The artist had a baby girl, Apple, earlier this year with actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

"Once you're going to have a baby, [writing about] that kicks in anyway," he said. "So it's been happening for 10 months, but I mean, I'm not singing about [diapers] or anything."

As previously reported, Coldplay is expected to make its return to the live stage, possibly armed with new material, as part of a March 12 benefit for California radio station KCRW in Los Angeles.

As for Doves, the group is putting the finishing touches on the follow-up to its 2002 breakthrough, "The Last Broadcast," which has sold 109,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. album chart and was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The new album will be released in February in the region.

Doves have promised to unveil new songs at their first shows in more than a year, to be held Dec. 14 in Wolverhampton, England, Dec. 15 in London and Dec. 17 in Blackpool, England.

the new doves album will be called "some cities"

and will be released in february 27th (uk)

coldplay?

Suede's Anderson, Butler Prep Debut as The Tears
James Gregory reports:
As previously reported back in May, former Suede (or London Suede, for U.S. fans-- or people who just like to say "London") vocalist Brett Anderson and guitarist Bernard Butler have spent a good portion of 2004 collaborating on songs for a new project. The actual work the duo were producing had first taken shape as an Anderson solo album before being hailed as a full on joint effort. Fans have sort of been left wondering what the actual union would be officially called-- until now, that is-- as NME has reported that the pair have named their new band... The Tears! Ahem.

On the upside, The Tears' debut album has been written, recorded, and mixed, and is expected to hit stores in the first quarter of 2005. While no firm release date or tracklist details have been revealed, the first single is planned for release early next year.

Speaking of his reunion with Butler, Anderson told NME, "There's a lot of people out there who are worried about us getting back together and tarnishing what we've done before. The first thing we said when we got together was that we won't release a note of music unless the album's spectacular. That's the most important thing about it. We could have written for three years and if the songs hadn't been any good we wouldn't have bothered getting to this stage with it."

Fans can judge rate the overall spectacularness of the band's material at two live dates scheduled for late this year. Anderson continued optimistically about the upcoming shows. "There's that whole issue of, 'When they get back together are they going to live up to what they've done in the past?' We don't want that to be an issue so it has to be spectacular." Spectacular:

12-16 London, England - Heaven
12-18 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz

Can't wait for Coldplay.

I wonder if Coldplay is actually gonna make a real, recorded piece of art (I liked their first 2 albums) but I have a feeling its going to be throwaway commercial trash.

They are certainly capable of elevating themselves further, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm thinking it should be pretty good. They took time off and got away from the whole music thing which I think could be a great benefit. The biggest mistake a lot of groups make when they start to get big is to rush their next album. I'm hoping they don't bow to record company pressures to meet a certain date.

DOVES have announced their comeback single will be titled ‘BLACK AND WHITE TOWN’.

The single will be released on February 7, followed by their third album ‘Some Cities’ on February 21. The record is the follow-up to 2002's chart-topping ‘The Last Broadcast’.

As previously revealed on NME.COM, the band are making their return to the live stage in December with three special pre-Christmas shows.

Doves will play:

Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall (December 14)
London Hammersmith Palais (15)
Blackpool Empress Ballroom (17)