Mercury Rev [ tickets ] will hit the road late this year for a headlining trek behind the band's seventh and most recent studio album, "Snowflake Midnight."

The alt-rock quintet, which is currently in Ireland to launch a month-long European trek, will kick off a round of North American dates Dec. 4 in Woodstock, NY, near the band's hometown. Highlights include stops in New York (12/7), Toronto (12/9) and Chicago (12/11).

The two-week, 12-city outing winds down with a pair of shows in San Francisco (12/17-18). Details are included below. The group's overseas schedule is posted at Mercury Rev's website.

"Snowflake Midnight," which hit stores late in September, follows 2005's "The Secret Migration," and was once again produced by the group's own Dave Fridmann. On the same day the retail set was released, the band also issued a full-length companion record, the mostly instrumental "Strange Attractor," which is available as a free download from the group's website. A physical version of the bonus album is packaged with the vinyl release of "Snowflake Midnight."

The first single from "Snowflake Midnight," "Senses On Fire," is streaming at the band's MySpace page, and a free download of the song is available by joining the band's mailing list.