Michigan’s Small Brown Bike have released the details for “Composite Vol. 2,” the second installment in their 7” series of new material for No Idea Records.

Scheduled for release on March 9th, “Composite Vol. 2″ will feature two new songs tracked this past January in the band’s home recording studio and mixed/mastered by Dave Feeny at Tempermill. The 7” will be limited to 1,100 physical copies, which will include a digital download. Side A will host “Some Optimistic,” with the flip side being home for “Never Walk This Alone.”

The band commented that the two new songs “feel a little slower and colder than Composite Vol. 1’s material. That’s what a winter in Michigan will do to a band.”

SBB recently released “Composite Vol. 1,” a 7” on No Idea Records. The 7” featured two new songs recorded in 2009; “When We Run” and “Hourglass.” The 7” was limited to 1,100 copies. No Idea has 30 left for sale on their mail-order website. The band has about 50 copies they will be selling at their upcoming shows in March. Once they’re gone, you’ll still be able to purchase the songs via iTUNES. You can currently stream “Composite Vol. 1″ here.

The band will be playing shows in Gainesville and Orlando while in Florida performing at the second annual Harvest of Hope Fest (HOH FEST) March 12th-14th in St. Augustine, FL. In May, the band will set out for a string of shows in the Northeast, which they haven’t visited since 2003. All dates and support acts can be seen by clicking “more” below.
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Buffalo’s Failures’ Union have just announced an extensive update disclosing their plans to promote their sophomore album “In What Way,” released this past December by Paper + Plastick.

In April, the band will bring their mid-90’s-influenced indie rock stylings to the UK for a two-week tour alongside Wales’ Bedford Falls. To commemorate the tour, the two bands will release a split 7”, with each contributing an original and a cover of the other band. The 7” will be available just in time for the tour, courtesy of Failures’ Union’s own as-yet-unnamed label. Most of the dates can be seen below, with the rest to come shortly.

Failures Union & Bedford Falls – UK Tour 2010
3/30 – Exeter, UK @ The Cavern
3/31 – Bristol, UK @ The Croft
4/2 – Sunderland, UK @ The White Room
4/3 – Glasgow, UK @ Captain’s Rest
4/4 – Manchester, UK @ Retro Bar
4/6 – Cambridge, UK @ The Portland Arms
4/7 – Southsea, UK @ The Edge of the Wedge
4/8 – London, UK @ The Monarch
4/9 – Newport, UK @ Le Pub
4/10 – Swansea, UK @ Bar Sigma
4/11 – Kingston, UK @ The Fighting Cocks

The band has just launched a Kickstarter webpage to raise money to release their debut album “Sinker” on vinyl. For those unfamiliar, Kickstarter.com hosts donation-based fundraisers for all manner of artistic endeavors, although Failures’ Union are one of the first bands to utilize its services. Sinker was originally released in 2007 on One Percent Press.

The band had this to say about the move to raise money to fund their own release and what interesting incentives they are offing donators:

“Kickstarter.com is a great website for musicians, artists, or anyone who has an idea for a project, but little capital to get it started. Basically, people pledge a donation towards your project, and in return they get something back. For our project the lower level donations are pretty much just pre-orders. The more people pledge, the more they get in return. If someone pledges us $50, we will screen-print them any one color shirt of their choice/design. If someone pledges $75, they will get a test press of the LP. If anyone has the money to pledge $100, Tony will write and record a song specifically for/about them. There are also other pledge levels, so check out the page to see what they are.”

To donate, check out the page on Kickstarter.com.

In more news, the band recently unearthed footage from a video they shot nearly two years ago for the song “West Coast, NY,” shot by friends Eric Ayotte and Super Bobby. You can check out the video over at Ifyoumakeit.com. The band is also giving away a free download sampler featuring a collection of music from their releases. You can download the 9 songs on the band’s website.

The band also recently welcomed a new member to their ranks. Former drummer Eric Ellman has moved to second guitar duties and left the stool to be filled by his brother Blake.

In case you missed it, you can stream their sophomore album, In What Way, released this fall on Paper + Plastick on the band’s Punknews.org profile page