[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Death Cab for Cutie[/lastfm] hasn’t released a new album in three years, but for fans the long wait is almost over because Codes and Keys is due out on May 31st.[photogallerylink id=4380]

The band just released the album artwork and tracklist last week. And now they’ve announced the album pre-sale along with 11 North American tour dates – including three in L.A.!

Codes and Keys, which will be Death Cab for Cutie’s seventh studio album, is supposed to be focused more on synthesizers and reverb than the typical Death Cab guitar-strumming style. Lead singer Ben Gibbard told Spin that the band was inspired by [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Brian Eno[/lastfm]‘s Another Green World when making this album. But fans who love the band’s usual sound shouldn’t be completely worried. Bassist Nick Harmer told Stereogum that, “There are definitely guitars on this record. There are just less of them than before, and we’re using them in different ways this time.”

You can pre-order the album by going here. You can buy at every level, from a digital copy of the album for $10 to the premium pack for $60, which exclusively allows you to stream the entire album 72 hours before the release date and  includes limited edition merchandise, membership in the Death Cab for Cutie fan club, the band’s new Live at the Mt. Baker Theatre DVD, and an mp3 download of the first single off the new album, “You Are A Tourist,” on March 29th.

And, as mentioned earlier, the band announced on its site it would play 11 North American dates, “playing small clubs across the US and Canada with The Lonely Forest.”

From Death Cab for Cuties web site:

05/18/11 – TORONTO, ON @ PHOENIX CONCERT THEATRE
05/20/11 – CHICAGO, IL @ METRO
05/21/11 – MINNEAPOLIS, MN @ FIRST AVENUE
06/01/11 – NEW YORK, NY @ BOWERY BALLROOM
06/03/11 – WASHINGTON D.C @ 9:30 CLUB
06/04/11 – PHILADELPHIA, PA @ TROCADERO THEATRE
06/05/11 – BOSTON, MA @ PARADISE
06/07/11 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ EL REY THEATRE
06/09/11 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ THE FILLMORE

We are also pleased to announce that Death Cab for Cutie will be playing two very special shows this August at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. Additional show and ticket information will be added soon.

08/18/11 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ GREEK THEATRE
08/19/11 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ GREEK THEATRE

No ticket date has been set for the Greek Theatre dates, but the general on sale for the El Rey Theatre show begins this Saturday, March 26th, at 10am local venue time. Tickets will go on sale here and will cost $35.

Watch Death Cab perform “Meet Me on the Equinox” live at KROQ.