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Jan 19, 2024 By Mark Redfern Photography by Tatiana Pozuelo

Leeds, England-based four-piece English Teacher have announced their debut album, This Could Be Texas, and shared a new song from it, “Albert Road,” via a music video. They have also announced some UK tour dates. This Could Be Texas is due out April 12 via Island. Watch the “Albert Road” video below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as the tour dates.

English Teacher is Lily Fontaine (vocals, rhythm guitar, synth), Douglas Frost (drums, piano, vocals), Nicholas Eden (bass), and Lewis Whiting (lead guitar). This Could Be Texas features three previously released singles by the band: “The World’s Biggest Paving Slab,” “Nearly Daffodils,” and “Mastermind Specialism.”

“I want this album to feel like you’ve gone to space and it turns out it’s almost identical to Doncaster. It’s about inbetweens, it’s about home, and it’s about Desire Paths,” says Fontaine in a press release.

Of “Albert Road,” Fontaine says: “When people ask where I’m from I usually say I’m mixed race: half Yorkshire, half Lancashire. It allows me to divert with comedy from the potential connotations of that question, which change wildly depending on who’s asking it. One end of Albert Road in Colne (her hometown) is cold, underfunded and uninspiring; the other is warm at night with live music. It sums up how I look back on the place I lived for 19 years.”

Co-director Douglas Frost had this to say about the song’s video: “This video, co-directed alongside the talented Sarah Oglesby at Sodium Films, represents the complex feelings of love one might have towards their hometown. I wanted ‘Albert Road’ to have a dream-like feel whilst keeping a firm grip on reality. That’s why we chose to film in one of our favorite pubs in Leeds, The Cardigan Arms—its classic interior was a great juxtaposition to the ethereal qualities of the video. There are also a few Easter eggs for those die hard English Teacher fans (if you’re out there please make contact). This is technically my directorial debut so sit back, shut up and be nice.”

This Could Be Texas Tracklist:

01. Albatross
02. The World’s Biggest Paving Slab
03. Broken Biscuits
04. I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying
05. Mastermind Specialism
06. This Could Be Texas
07. Not Everybody Gets To Go To Space
08. R&B
09. Nearly Daffodils
10. The Best Tears Of Your Life
11. You Blister My Paint
12. Sideboob
13. Albert Road

English Teacher Tour Dates:

28th Jan - The Crescent, York
29th Jan - The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
31st Jan - The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees
1st Feb - Polar Bear, Hull
2nd Feb - Whereelse?, Margate
3rd Feb - Bedford Esquires, Bedford
8th Feb - L’Ubu, Rennes, FRA
9th Feb - Le Krakatoa, Mérignac, FRA
10th Feb - Point Éphémère, Paris, FRA
13th Feb - Cactus Club, Brugge, BEL
14th Feb - Trix, Antwerpen, BEL
17th Feb - Molotow, Hamburg, GER
18th Feb - Cassiopeia, Berlin, GER
20th Feb - Kranhalle, Munchen, GER
22nd Feb - Vera, Groningen, NL
23rd Feb - Rotown, Rotterdam, NL
24th Paradiso Tolhuistuin, Amsterdam, NL
8th May - Concorde 2, Brighton
9th May - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
10th May - Thekla, Bristol
11th May - Clwb lfor Bach, Cardiff
13th May - The Bullingdon, Oxford
15th May - The Foundry, Sheffield
16th May - Irish Centre, Leeds
17th May - Mash House, Edinburgh
18th May - King Tuts, Glasgow
21st May - Ulster Sports Club, Belfast
22nd May - Whelans, Dublin
24th May - Gorilla, Manchester
25th May - Castle and Falcon, Birmingham
28th May - Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
29th May - Electric Brixton, London

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