Juliana Hatfield [ tickets ] has lined up a series of May and June club dates to support the release of "In Exile Deo," which is due in stores on May 18.

According to Zoe/Rounder Records, the album features 13 new songs, most of which Hatfield wrote and produced herself. David Leonard (Avril Lavigne, Prince) co-produced and mixed two of the album's tracks, and David Way (Sheryl Crow, Madonna) mixed five songs. Samples of all of the songs are streaming at Hatfield's website.

Singer/guitarist Hatfield is backed on the album by keyboardist Peter Adams, bassist Josh Lattanzi, and drummers Damon Richardson and Steve Scully.

In a statement, Hatfield said that she sees the new album as a creative turning point.

"I'd always clung to my music because I was so desperate--it was my lifeboat," she said. "I always felt that music was some kind of weird knack that I had, that I somehow didn’t deserve. Now I feel like I'm in partnership with my music, that we're equals, and I'm finally worthy of it."

Though it's been four years since she released a solo album, Hatfield has remained active. In 2001, she reunited with the Blake Babies for a tour and a new album titled "God Bless the Blake Babies." In 2003, she launched Some Girls--a side project that also features the Blake Babies' Freda Love and Heidi Gluck of The Pieces. Some Girls' debut release, "Feel It," hit stores last September.

Her previous solo releases were "Beautiful Creature" and "Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure," two albums issued simultaneously in 2000.