COLOUR Of Fire, York's hottest hopes for success since Shed Seven, will release debut album Pearl Necklace on August 2.

Produced by Steve Osborne, who has worked with New Order, U2 and Suede, the record finds Stu Jones, Owen Richards, Thom Craigen and Matt Lunn taking elements of Queens Of The Stone Age, At The Drive-In and The Vines to construct their own sound.

The album will be preceded by a new EP, The Exile, released through Riverman Music on Monday. Billed as a gritty-sleazy-rock appetiser for Pearl Necklace, it complements the title track with The Company Won't Colour Me, Ethereal, Jennifer and **** Work, Let's Party (the B-side on the seven-inch vinyl version).

Last year, the York quartet released two singles, leading to television exposure on MTV2 and Scuzz and sessions on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show and Ian Camfield and Claire Sturgess's shows on XFM. Support shows for Placebo at the London Astoria and Brixton Academy were a highlight of their 2003 live itinerary, and this summer they have played in Germany, France and Austria and at T in the Park, Glasgow.

Updated: 15:53 Thursday, July 22, 2004