I’ve long been a fan of The Jayhawks, discovering their music through a recommendation, then discovering to my disappointment that they’d split up years before.

So, my ears pricked up today when I heard that Gary Louris and Mark Olson, the brains behind The Jayhawks have come together to release a new album, Ready For The Flood. It even sounds like a Jayhawks type of title, doesn’t it?

I’m busting to hear some of this new material, and if you’ve never listened to a Jayhawks album before, I suggest you go out and find one. They’re an awesome band and their music is just so sweet and relaxing to listen to.

The new album is going to be released either in the summer or autumn of this year, despite it being recorded in January 2007. The delay was to allow for Louris‘ and Olson’s solo album releases.

My guess is that although they could return to the Jayhawks moniker for this release, they probably decided that they would be able to be slightly more creative than if they felt they had to live up to certain fan expectations. Many of the articles I’ve read about The Jayhawks lead with a missive about how they got tagged as an alt-country act early on in their career and were never able to break out of those constraints.

Regardless of what they decide to call the act, anything these two release is guaranteed to be excellent. I’ve just been reminded that Gary Louris was one of the songwriters on the Dixie Chicks’ Taking The Long Way album – another reason to sit on the edge of your seat until Ready For The Flood gets released.