Bruce Springsteen announces new album, Letter To You, and a bad album cover

The Boss has once again emerged from the underground bunker where he painstakingly, exactingly obsesses over every millisecond of sound he has ever recorded, in order to announce that he had finally decided that latest round of endless tinkering has resulted in a finished product that meets his standards. For now, anyway—until he gets mad later, decides it’s garbage, and throws it into a pool.

Bruce Springsteen announced this morning that he had finished work on a new album, Letter To You. Recorded once more with his beloved E Street Band, the record contains 12 songs, three of which are new versions of outtakes from his ’70s work: “Janey Needs A Shooter,” “If I Was The Priest,” and “Song For Orphans.” Produced by Springsteen and Ron Aniello, the album marks a new evolution in his studio process, as the Boss himself explains in the press release: “I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.” Of course, those thinking this would result in some rough, raw recording may want to himself themselves that Brice Springsteen does not do rough, raw recordings any more. Here’s the lead single, title track “Letter To You.”