Fascinating Listening

I was just over on the Merge Records website looking for pre-sale info for the new Broken West album (nothing yet) when I noticed that they're streaming Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes, the new album by Julian Koster of Neutral Milk Hotel.

The album is streaming for a limited time only here, and if you're looking for some really interesting weekend listening, I suggest that you check it out.

A warning - if you have no patience for anything with a resemblance to freak folk, or if you hate everything about Beirut, then you might want to stay away. Neither of those are actually great comparisons, but they should get the point across to those people who aren't going to have the stomach for it. Oh, and be prepared for lots and lots of banjo and singing saw.

For those of you willing to take a chance, I highly recommend "Majesty" and "Manifest Destiny". Actually, I recommend the whole thing. It's pretty great.

Merge only lists this as a 2008 release right now, but they are taking pre-orders. (Edited to add: Wikipedia says "August 2008".)