British band Aqualung, led by acclaimed singer/songwriter Matt Hales, will release Magnetic North, its first album of all new material in three years, on April 27.

Magnetic North is a glorious celebration of smart pop music led by Hales’ exquisite keyboard-based melodies. The album’s 12 songs range from the impossibly upbeat and joyous Beck-like opening track “New Friend” and the exuberant “Fingertip” to the bleak sorrow of “Sundowning.”

 “The common theme is mature relationships in various degrees of difficulty,” says Hales of the Verve release. “The thing that is common to all these relationships, whether they last or not, is there was a point when the other person was everything.”

It is Aqualung’s first album since Hales relocated his family from England to Los Angeles last year, a move foreshadowed by the song snippet “California.” He had considered retiring from performing, but these songs demanded to be heard. “They don’t want to be hidden away,” he jokes.

Hales, who co-wrote all 12 songs on Magnetic North, produced the album at his home studio and at The Bank in Burbank with core band, his brother, guitarist Ben Hales, and drummer/percussionist David Price. 

Magnetic North includes many guests including Sara Bareilles on the haunting “Remember Us” and “New Friend,” as well as A Fine Frenzy’s Alison Sudol on “Time Moves Slow,” and Kelly Sweet on “Fingertip” and “Sundowning.” 

Aqualung released its first album, Strange and Beautiful, in the U.S. in 2004. That was followed by 2007’s Memory Man, which chronicled his dark adventures into fatherhood. The group’s first album for Verve was 2008’s Words and Music, a set largely comprised of re-recordings of previously released songs.

A favorite among music supervisors, Aqualung’s songs “Strange and Beautiful” and “Brighter Than Sunshine” have been used in commercials, while a number of Hales’ tunes have been licensed for use on such shows as Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Miami, Cold Case and Scrubs.

Aqualung will support Magnetic North with a tour.

Current dates include:

April 26, 2010 – Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA

April 27, 2010 – Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, CA

April 29, 2010 – Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC

April 30, 2010 – Doug Fir, Portland, OR

May 1, 2010 – The Triple Door, Seattle, WA

May 4, 2010 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN

May 5, 2010 – Schubas, Chicago, IL

May 6, 2010 – Blueberry Hill Duck Room, St Louis, MO

May 7, 2010 – The Basement, Columbus, OH

May 8, 2010 – World Café Live, Philadelphia, PA

May 9, 2010 – Jammin’ Java, Vienna, VA

May 10, 2010 – City Winery, New York, NY

May 11, 2010 – The Red Room @ Café 939, Boston, MA