The National have confirmed their new album will be released worldwide in May 2010. The band is currently in the studio mixing this much-anticipated follow up to 2007’s highly acclaimed Boxer. As yet untitled, full details of the new release are soon to follow.

On the live front, The National will make a one-off UK appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on May 6th. This stand-alone show will be followed by a show at the Zenith in Paris on the 7th as special guests to Pavement, and their own headline date in Berlin on the 9th. The Brooklyn band will also be performing at the Big Ears Festival in Tennessee, co-curated by Bryce Dessner from the band.

Prior to the European dates in May, The National play two warm-up shows in Richmond, Virginia on April 22nd and 23rd and then commence their first set of Stateside tour dates from May 22 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles through to Radio City Hall in New York on June 16.

The US pre-sales begin at 10:00 (local time) on Tuesday, January 26 and run through 22:00 Thursday, January 28. The London and Berlin pre-sales start at 10:00 (local time) on Wednesday, January 27 and run through 22:00 on Thursday, January 28.

The password for all of the pre-sales is "BloodBuzz".

MARCH
26-28 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee (tickets)

APRIL
22 The National Theatre, Richmond Virginia (pre-order ticket link)
23 The National Theatre, Richmond Virginia (pre-order ticket link)

MAY
6 Royal Albert Hall, London (pre-order ticket link)
7 Zenith, Paris (w. Pavement) (pre-order ticket link)
9 Astra, Berlin (pre-order ticket link)
22 Wiltern, Los Angeles (pre-order ticket link)
23 Spreckels Theater, San Diego (pre-order ticket link)
27 Fox Theater, Oakland (pre-order ticket link)

JUNE
2 House of Blues, Boston (pre-order ticket link)
5 Electric Factory, Philadelphia (pre-order ticket link)
6 DAR Constitution Hall, Washington DC (pre-order ticket link)
8 Massey Hall, Toronto (pre-order ticket link)
16 Radio City Music Hall, New York (pre-order ticket link)

For more information head over to The National's official website americanmary.com.