Jason Feathers is a bit of a surprise album. When Astronautalis announced that he was working with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon I was expecting some sort of indie rock type sound. With the first press release of this album it became clear that it is something completely different. This is clearly and experimental concept album.

The press release introduced the album as follows:

“One evening Jason Feathers, a.k.a. Creflo, a red-chested god-bassed Southern rapper in a fancy white suit, found himself in an after-bar-impromptu-musical-round-up. There, he tangled with two flashily-clad cronies, one called Toothpick, a drummer-hype-piano-man all in one, and the other a heavily-seasoned guitar-crooning lost-cowboy that went by Ephasis. The house engineer that night, a white-haired man with ghostly features that the locals all called Opacity, captured all that went down”

If you are not confused by that just wait until you listen to it. The album sounds like a well executed joke. There is lots of vocal distortion and auto tune and it like nothing you have heard from Astronautalis or Bon Iver before.

The album will be released digitally August 19, CDs and vinyl will come some time in September or later. You can listen to it streaming on Pitchfork until August 25th.