After a year of "transition and reinvention," alt-country rockers Drive-By Truckers [ tickets ] will head into 2008 with a new album and North American tour.

The band will start Jan. 10 with a three-night stand in its home base of Athens, GA. At the first show, Drive-By Truckers will play their forthcoming album, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark," in its entirety. After the record's Jan. 22 release, DBT will head out on a seven-week trek that kicks off Feb. 11 in Anaheim, CA, and maketheir way across the US, stopping in a couple of Canadian provinces. Details are listed below.

The confirmed dates are just the beginning of what is expected to be an extensive world tour that "should become our most ambitious season of touring yet," according to frontman Patterson Hood.

The outing and new album mark a fresh beginning for Drive-By Truckers since singer/guitarist Jason Isbell split with the band last spring. The 19-song "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" includes tunes from primary songwriters Hood and vocalist/guitarist Mike Cooley, and marks the first time that bassist Shonna Tucker has contributed to the writing.

Founding band member John Neff, who has frequently guested on albums and on stage over the years, is now an official Drive-By Trucker, playing pedal steel and guitar. He and drummer Brad Morgan round out the touring and recording lineup.

Hood said that stylistically, the songs on the new album run the gamut from old-timey country to heavy R&B.

"[There are] some songs that are quieter than any we've ever recorded and some that rock harder than anything we've ever done," he said in a posting at DBT's website. "In the end, it's still all rock and roll (which is why that will always be the description of choice to us when describing our music in stylistic terms)."

A few songs from the set are streaming at the band's MySpace page.

Fans who can't wait for the new album can get their fix tomorrow (12/18), when Drive-By Truckers release the four-song "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" EP at digital music providers including iTunes. The band is also getting ready to delve into its back-catalog with the Feb. 5 reissue of several albums on 180-gram vinyl, according to a press release.

"Brighter Than Creation's Dark"--Drive-By Truckers' eighth album--follows last year's "A Blessing and a Curse," which debuted at No. 50 on The Billboard 200 and became the band's fastest-selling release to date, according to New West Records.

DBT also appear as the backing band on R&B singer Bettye Lavette's latest record, "The Scene of the Crime," which is up for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category. Hood co-produced the set with longtime Drive-By Truckers producer David Barbe.