Ryan Adams new music alert! (Man, it feels good to say that.) Just a week after he delivered his first public performance in 18 months, the acclaimed singer/songwriter returns with details for his long-awaited Cardinals III/IV albums. Per a newly launched web page for Adams’ personal imprint, PAX•AM Records, the 21-track collection will soon arrive on CD, double vinyl, and digitally. Above, you’ll find its artwork and below, its tracklist. Pre-orders will begin shortly. Update: iTunes pre-orders will begin November 23rd. Physical release to follow at the end of November.

On the page, Adams offers the follow description for the double album:

Originally hidden away in the vault while the band hit the road to support Easy Tiger, and now for the first time here in its entirety is the Cardinals second double-album concept rock opera about the 80?s, ninjas, cigarettes, sex, and pizza.

In layman’s terms, Cardinals III/IV was recorded around the same time as Adams’ 2007 record, Easy Tiger. But as Adams explained in a posting from over the summer, a variety of factors ultimately prevented its release.

“I think one of the hardest things for the band was making this and not backing this. We were ready to tell these stories but like all Cards adventures they were soon followed by more playing writing and touring and we got sidelined by making that mellow classic Easy Tiger. Also that is what the label wanted. I think we just assumed as a band that we would make Easy Tiger, it would go unnoticed and wham back to the III/IV record we would go. Fate was not interested in that story.”

That said, Adams has always maintained high praise for the effort. In that same posting, he proclaimed that Cardinals III/IV “sounds the best of any record [the Cardinals] made.” He also said it was the “first record I made when I got off the booze and the drugs” and described it as “basically a rock record but not a punk record and not a record like [2003's Rock N' Roll]… it’s rock like Cardinals rock and not at all jammy.”

So, yeah.

Cardinals III/IV Tracklist:
Side A
01. Breakdown Into The Resolve
02. Dear Candy
03. Wasteland
04. Ultraviolet Light
05. Stop Playing With My Heart

Side B
06. Lovely And Blue
07. Happy Birthday
08. Kisses Start Wars
09. The Crystal Skull
10. Users

Side C
11. No
12. Numbers
13. Gracie
14. Icebreaker
15. Sewers at the Bottom of the Wishing Well

Side D
16. Typecast
17. Star Wars
18. My Favorite Song
19. P.S.
20. Death And Rats
21. Kill The Lights