Singer/songwriter Jose Gonzalez [ tickets ] has mapped out the first leg of a return to the US as he anticipates the September release of his second full-length album, "In Our Nature."

The singer--born in Sweden to Argentinean parents--will preview the new disc with a special show Aug. 21 in New York City before returning the following month to kick off his headlining tour with the first of three additional shows in the Big Apple.

Gonzalez will hit 11 cities during the tour, and will follow up with a second leg later this year, according to his publicist. Dates for the initial stretch are included below.

Due in stores Sept. 25, "In Our Nature" is the singer's long-awaited follow-up to his 2003 debut album, "Veneer," which gained attention in the US after the inclusion of its song "Crosses" on 2005's season-ending episode of the television series "The O.C." The set was subsequently reissued later that year, and an EP, "Stay in the Shade," followed last January.

Gonzales said in a message posted at his website that he "didn't want to write about love" on the new album, but instead sought to "find other, though equally universal themes for the songs," adding that he drew inspiration for the new songs from reading "The God Delusion" by British evolutionary botanist Richard Dawkins.

"But the lyrics are far from biological, I'd like to point that out," Gonzalez added. "It's mainly the theme that interests me."