Merrill Garbus, a.k.a. the funky, loop-happy, “lo-fi” songstress behind capitalization-obsessed tUnE-yArDs, is all about making it hard for reporters to type things. I guess that’s just the way she rolls. I mean, I could tell you a little bit about how much I’ve enjoyed her shows in support of 2009’s BiRd-BrAiNs and have looked forward to the eventual recording of several cool new songs that have been populating these shows for the past year or two. But alas, I’m a little busy fumbling around with my shift key.

So I’ll just have to move on to the news that Garbus is releasing her new album, entitled w h o k i l l, on April 18 (April 19 in the US) via 4AD. And I have to tell you, hitting the space bar between every letter is, for some reason, way easier for me to do than capitalizing every other letter. The album follows Garbus’s relocation from hideous, hideous Montreal, QC to Oakland, CA, and, go figure, the new album is supposed to be brighter and sunnier than… that other one.

Though w h o k i l l was produced by Garbus herself, she decided to hook up with a legitimate studio and legitimate engineer Eli Crews this time around to give her jams the still-sort-of-lo-fi-but-classier-now sound that is required of bands that license music to Blackberry. And speaking of requirements, here’s those tourdates that I told you I’d tell you about at the top. And to be honest, I didn’t much care for having to type these out either. Thanks, tUnE-yArDs.

04.26.11 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall

04.28.11 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge

04.29.11 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile

04.30.11 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret

05.02.11 - Garden City, ID -Visual Arts Collective

05.03.11 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge

05.04.11 - Denver, CO - Hi Dive

05.06.11 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon

05.07.11 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown

05.08.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Centre

05.10.11 - Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall

05.11.11 - Pontiac, MI - Pike Room @ Crofoot Ballroom

05.12.11 - Toronto, ON -The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern

05.13.11 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa

05.15.11 - Easthampton, MA - Flywheel Arts Collective

05.16.11 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

05.17.11 - Milford, CT - Daniel Street

05.19.11 - Washington, DC - The Red Palace

05.20.11 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda’s

05.21.11 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg

06.25.11 - Hollywood, CA - The Troubadour

• tUnE-yArDs: http://tune-yards.com

• 4AD: http://www.4ad.com