Pictish Trail release(s) a new album, ‘Thumb World’, via Fire Records.

Still the brainchild of Johnny Lynch, the ten-track long-player – available on vinyl as well as a download / stream – is the follow-up to the Scottish Album of the Year Award public vote winner ‘Future Echoes’.

Produced and mixed by Rob Jones aka The Voluntary Butler Scheme, it also features string arrangements from Kim Moore and drumming from Alex Thomas (Squarepusher, Anna Calvi, Air) – the collaborations tying in with his dropping of the, er, ‘The’ that preceded his nom-de-plume previously, giving things a more band-like feel.

“Our opposable thumbs are the things that separate us from most other animals on Earth,” Lynch says of the album’s curious theme and title. “They are also the things that we use to swipe on screens, to separate ourselves from our normal lives, but which in turn trap us within an artificial reality.”

Pictish Trail heads out on a UK tour in March/April with Lost Map label act Savage Mansion as support:

TUE, MAR 24 @ HARE & HOUNDS, BIRMINGHAM [TICKETS]
WED, MAR 25 @ BOILEROOM, GUILDFORD [TICKETS]
THU, MAR 26 @ CLWB IFOR BACH, CARDIFF [TICKETS]
FRI, MAR 27 @ LOUISIANA, BRISTOL [TICKETS]
SAT, MAR 28 @ OMEARA, LONDON [TICKETS]
SUN, MAR 29 @ THE HOPE & RUIN, BRIGHTON [TICKETS]
TUE, MAR 31 @ BODEGA, NOTTINGHAM [TICKETS]
WED, APR 1 @ TRADES CLUB, HEBDEN BRIDGE [TICKETS]
THU, APR 2 @ CLUNY 2, NEWCASTLE [TICKETS]
FRI, APR 3 @ GULLIVERS, MANCHESTER [TICKETS]
SAT, APR 4 @ BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB, LEEDS [TICKETS]
THU, APR 9 @ TOLLBOOTH, STIRLING [TICKETS]
FRI, APR 10 @ BEAT GENERATOR, DUNDEE [TICKETS]
SAT, APR 11 @ QUEEN’S HALL, EDINBURGH [TICKETS]
SUN, APR 12 @ LEMON TREE, ABERDEEN [TICKETS]

More at pictishtrail.co.uk