Indie folkstress Merrill Garbus, the sole member of the lady-with-a-ukelele act that is tUnE-yArDs, may be used to going it alone — she self-recorded her debut album, bIrD-bRaInS, on a Sony digital voice recorder, edited it using the Audacity app, and then issued it on her website in exchange for donations. But it helps being one of 2009′s biggest little breakthroughs. Having built steady buzz for months, especially from her May appearance at the Breeders-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties line-up in Britain, Garbus just signed to a label — in fact, it’s the second label she’s signed to in less than six months.

In the spring, tiny Marriage Records picked up the album for a vinyl release. Come August 18, 4AD, the British indie label that boasts Blonde Redhead, Deerhunter, The National, and St. Vincent on its roster, will at long last issue the album on CD — about a full year after its initial release by Garbus herself.

Garbus, who typically performs with just her trusty ukelele (the album also features some cursory percussion), just ended a string of summer tour dates; check back to see when she hits the road again.