diff --git a/cbd-tui/src/app/now_playing.rs b/cbd-tui/src/app/now_playing.rs
index c53920f..d1670f7 100644
--- a/cbd-tui/src/app/now_playing.rs
+++ b/cbd-tui/src/app/now_playing.rs
@@ -619,18 +619,7 @@ impl NowPlaying {
 /// if the binary is renamed or wrapped.
 #[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
 fn notify_now_playing(track: &Track) {
-    let body = if let Some(ref album) = track.album {
-        format!(
-            "{} by {}\n\n{} ({})",
-            track.title,
-            track.artist,
-            album.title,
-            // FIXME: get out year and format differently if it's missing
-            album.release_date()
-        )
-    } else {
-        format!("{} by {}", track.title, track.artist)
-    };
+    let body = notification_body(track);
     if let Err(err) = Notification::new()
         .appname("crabidy")
         .summary("Now playing")
@@ -641,6 +630,26 @@ fn notify_now_playing(track: &Track) {
     }
 }
 
+/// The notification body: the track, and on its own line the album with the
+/// release date the provider gave. Most providers leave `release_date` unset
+/// (it is an optional proto field, so absent reads as ""), which is why the
+/// parentheses belong to the date and not to the album line — otherwise a
+/// dateless album shows up as "Album ()".
+#[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
+fn notification_body(track: &Track) -> String {
+    let Some(album) = &track.album else {
+        return format!("{} by {}", track.title, track.artist);
+    };
+    let released = match album.release_date() {
+        "" => String::new(),
+        date => format!(" ({date})"),
+    };
+    format!(
+        "{} by {}\n\n{}{released}",
+        track.title, track.artist, album.title
+    )
+}
+
 /// Built without the `notifications` feature: nothing to show
 /// (architecture/build-features.md D1).
 #[cfg(not(feature = "notifications"))]
@@ -679,6 +688,43 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    /// The notification body for a track on `album`, which carries
+    /// `release_date`.
+    #[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
+    fn body_for(release_date: Option<&str>) -> String {
+        let mut track = now_playing(0, 0).track.expect("track");
+        track.album = Some(crabidy_core::proto::crabidy::Album {
+            title: "album".to_string(),
+            release_date: release_date.map(str::to_string),
+        });
+        notification_body(&track)
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
+    #[test]
+    fn notification_shows_the_release_date_when_there_is_one() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            body_for(Some("1977-10-28")),
+            "title by artist\n\nalbum (1977-10-28)"
+        );
+    }
+
+    /// No date must mean no parentheses, whether the provider left the field
+    /// unset or sent it empty.
+    #[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
+    #[test]
+    fn notification_omits_empty_parentheses() {
+        assert_eq!(body_for(None), "title by artist\n\nalbum");
+        assert_eq!(body_for(Some("")), "title by artist\n\nalbum");
+    }
+
+    #[cfg(feature = "notifications")]
+    #[test]
+    fn notification_without_an_album_is_just_the_track() {
+        let track = now_playing(0, 0).track.expect("track");
+        assert_eq!(notification_body(&track), "title by artist");
+    }
+
     /// One flat color, no markers: the glyph tests are about the bars'
     /// geometry, so they pin the paint down and let the color tests own it.
     fn flat() -> SpectrumStyle {