Ute’s debut release on Alcopop! Records, to whom they recently signed, will be an EP named ‘The Gambler’. It’s coming out on 6 December and the band are heading out on a short tour with labelmates Elephants to mark the occasion. From 4 December they’ll be taking the stage in Portsmouth, Cardiff, London and Northampton, and swinging by Oxford along the way. Catch them on 9 December at The Cellar.

There’s also a couple more Oxford dates on their horizon: on 16 December they’re playing acoustically at G&D’s cafe on Cowley Road, and on 15 January you can see them at the O2 Academy as part of Equitruck, which will also feature Fixers, The D B Band, Dreaming Spires, Dead Jerichos, Dial F for Frankenstein. Gig-o-rama!

“One more thing…”, as Columbo would say. Alcopop! Records have done the decent thing and made available a track from ‘The Gambler’. You can listen to and download it here.

News update! We’ve just heard, direct from the horse’s mouth – the horse in this case being Ute themselves – that Elephants have split up. So they’re striking out on tour by themselves. Make sure you head out to a couple of their shows to keep them company…