A MERCURY Prize-nominated group will be tearing up the stage in Bristol next month.

British Sea Power has announced a brand new UK tour for February in conjunction with the release of its fourth album Valhalla Dancehall.

The group formed in 2000 and released its first record in 2001 – the Fear of Drowning single on its own Golden Chariot label.

But it was the band’s live performances that defined its first years.

When it played the 2002 Reading Festival, Rolling Stone indicated that the entirety of the weekend’s bill paled before it.

Since then the band has played a collection of unforgettable shows in remarkable surroundings.

Its debut album, The Decline Of British Sea Power, was released in 2003.

There were concerts from St Petersburg to San Francisco, including tours with the Flaming Lips, Interpol, Pulp and The Killers.

In 2005, British Sea Power released second album, Open Season and that was followed by third, Do You Like Rock Music?, which was released in 2008 and went straight into the top 10 in the UK chart.

Now fourth studio album, Valhalla Dancehall, was written and recorded on the island of Skye, as well as in a remote farmhouse, near Selmeston in East Sussex.

The title hints at some wild internationalist daydream – a mix of Norse mythology and jam-happy Jamaican discos. The group will play at Bristol Thekla on February 8.

Tickets, priced �13.50, are available from www.gigsandtours.com or 0844 811 0051.