It's been a whirlwind 18 months for Reading band Saloon, who release their second album and embark on a nationwide tour in June.

The 10-track album If We Meet in the Future will be available from high street music shops including HMV from Monday 23rd June.

Two days earlier on Saturday 21st June they play at 21 South Street in Reading - the last date of a 17-leg tour that takes them from London to Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and Cardiff.

The five-piece, which formed five years ago in Reading, may not be household names but attracted critical acclaim for their first album (This is) What We Call Progress last year, even making it to the Sunday Times' list of 2002's best albums.

Their blend of folk-rock and electronica, with vocals in French, Spanish and English, led the Sunday broadsheet's reviewer to label it "stunning". And the single Girls are the New Boys topped the cult John Peel Festive Fifty chart on BBC Radio One at Christmas - much to the band's surprise and delight.

"It was such a shock", says singer Amanda, "it was a strange time for it to happen because we were halfway through recording our album and it seemed like the pressure doubled.
"I felt a lot more was expected of us and we had to prove ourselves."

Guitarist Matt adds: "After being in the chart the previous year it did cross our minds that we could be in it again, but never in a million years did we expect to be number one."

The new album, which was recorded and produced entirely by the band in their own studio Bellasonic Sounds, also has a new sound.

"It's more immediate and confident," says Matt. "The first album has very much got the producer's stamp on it, but this one was just the five of us. We'd wanted to make it much more like our sound live."

Other projects in the pipeline include releasing a 15-track compilation of the band's singles, which have been released over the last three years in limited numbers and are now hard to get hold of, working on their third album and more touring in Britain, Europe and America.

But for now Saloon are looking forward to playing in Reading, which is hometown to both Amanda and Matt and where the band formed. They will be playing a mixture of songs from both albums and popular singles at the 21 South Street 'Poptoys' gig, supported by Desdemona and The Projects.

"It really does mean a lot to me playing in Reading because it's my hometown," says Amanda, "and that's kind of special."