In between, they head north of the equator for four gigs in the U.K., three in Germany, and one each in the Netherlands and Ireland.

The Tremors and John Butler Trio are slated to appear on most of those dates.

Taking their name from a Neil Young song, Powderfinger set themselves up quickly in the early ‘90s as one of Australia’s top rock groups. And they’ve kept steady on since. Collectively, their album sales tally around the 1.5 million mark – in Australia alone. They recently released their fifth album, Vulture Street, to a No. 1 slot on Aussie charts.

Now comes news Powderfinger have inked with V2 Records, which means a wider release for Vulture Street. The disc is expected to hit shelves in Europe October 20 and the U.K. on the 27th.

Although the album looks to see daylight in North America sometime in early 2004, it doesn’t look like the band has any plans of touring the States. The market is notoriously hard for overseas bands to crack.

In an interview with Aussie rag Undercover News, member Darren Middleton said, “We like to have a good quality of life and if touring the States for half the year means you are going to hate it, then I’d rather not do it.”