The Ike Reilly [ tickets ] Assassination is touring the U.S. club circuit ahead of the release of Reilly's second album, "Sparkle in the Finish," due in stores on Oct. 12.

Reilly and his band launched their latest round of dates last week, and so far are scheduled to be on the road through mid-October. Additional late-October tour dates in the Midwest and East are in the works, according to Reilly's publicist.

"Sparkle in the Finish" is the follow up to "Salesmen and Racists," Reilly's 2001 debut, which came almost a decade after he retired from music to take on a series of odd jobs (he'd been a member of Chicago-area club bands The Drovers, The Eisenhowers and Community 9).

After Mike Simpson of production team The Dust Brothers took a liking to one of Reilly's demo tapes, the singer/songwriter quickly signed a deal with Universal/Republic Records.

Reilly's act is now called The Ike Reilly Assassination, but his band remains the same: drummer Dave Cottini, bassist Tommy O'Donnell and guitarist Phil Karnatz. "Sparkle in the Finish" was produced by Ed Tinley, who also contributed guitar and piano to the album.