Lifter Puller reissues, book available just in time for the holidays

Eye-Patch Guy, Nightclub Dwight, Katrina, Juanita, Jenny—Lifter Puller's regulars are like old friends we haven't heard from in far too long (not since the Nice Nice burned down anyway). But that's about to change.

Lifter Puller's entire catalogue is getting the reissue treatment, according to Pitchfork. (The site explains that LP was Craig Finn and Tad Kubler's pre-Hold Steady band, but we know how it really is: The Hold Steady are just a band they formed after Lifter Puller.) Record label The Orchard will make the albums available in digital form for the very first time on Dec. 1, and all but the band's 1997's self-titled debut will come with bonus live tracks. In the case of their final album, 2000's Fiesta + Fiascos, those extra tracks will come from the fantastic 2003 reunion shows the band played to celebrate the opening of the Triple Rock.

But wait, there's more. Slip Backwards, a collection of rarities, will also be released that day and feature the hard-to-find tracks from their Soft Rock double-disc, plus a few extras. And Finn worked with onetime Minneapolis resident and music writer Jessica Hopper to compile Lifter Puller Vs. The End Of, a book of photos, lyrics, and interviews that will also be released next month.

While this is great news—not to mention very generous of some guys who have other things going on these days—we're not above asking for more. Another reunion? Please?