After a stint co-hosting the celebrity news show “Extra,” Mark McGrath is back full-time as the frontman of Sugar Ray as the band preps for the release of their first full album of new material in six years.

“Music for Cougars,” the follow-up to 2003′s “In Pursuit of Leisure,” comes out July 21 and will be supported by a summer tour of clubs and festivals.

In an interview with Billboard, McGrath said the group – which still has all of its original members after 21 years – jumped at the chance to record a new album.

“I left ‘Extra’ in September and focused full time on the band and making this record,” he told the magazine. “It’s purely a passion, a labour of love basically making this record.”

He added, “We have realistic views of how the music industry is today. I know people aren’t sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for a Sugar Ray record. But that wasn’t the point. It was purely because we love to make music.”

According to Billboard, the album sees the band returning to its signature sound of “lazy grooves, easy beats, and catchy harmonies.” Recorded in Los Angeles, “Cougars” also features guest appearances from the likes of Rivers Cuomo and Donovan Frankenreiter.

First single “Boardwalk” will be released to radio in May. The band will follow up on the album’s release with an extensive U.S. tour that kicks off July 24 in Hankinson, ND and runs through Sept. 26 in San Diego, CA.

Sugar Ray had a string of reggae-tinged radio hits in the late-1990s and early-2000s, including “Fly” and “Every Morning.” They released a best-of album in 2005 and were featured on the soundtrack to the 2007 computer-animated flick “Surf’s Up.”

Related posts:

1. Tim Robbins To Release Album In July
2. The Midway State To Release New Album In July
3. CD Review: Sugar Ray – In the Pursuit of Leisure

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