A few years ago I had the pleasure of heading west to Los Angeles for a little festival in Santa Monica. Way Over Yonder was billed as a folk fest put on by the same people that do the Newport Folk Festival every year. There were certainly some great folk acts on the bill, but it was here that I saw the greatest rock and roll show I’ve ever witnessed-Conor Oberst backed by The Felice Brothers.

It’s just been announced that Conor is working with the band again on a new (sort of) album. Salutations is going to be 7 new tracks, plus all the songs from Ruminations done with a full band instead of solo. Yesterday they released the first new track, “Napalm,” as well as their version of  “A Little Uncanny.”

“Napalm” is, in my opinion, the most electrifying track Oberst has released since “Roosevelt Room” appeared on Outer South. There’s a little twang in the vocals on some lyrics, and since Ian Felice isn’t focused on singing he’s free to go wild on lead guitar.

Salutations also features Oberst’s Monsters Of Folk bandmate Jim James and drummer Jim Keltner. The Felice Brothers will join Oberst on tour (seriously must-see live) for dates in Europe as well as a handful here in the States. Check out the tour dates here.

The album is up for pre-sale through Nonesuch.