The other morning, while on my way to work, my mind was dominated by songs from Ramona Falls’ first album, Intuit.

That work, which came out over 3 years ago and was my first exposure to the local music scene, has stuck with me in a way that few albums have in my lifetime. I find all of the songs on that record to be very emotionally powerful and meaningful to me.

Note for note, it’s one of my favorite albums ever. Brent Knopf, the man behind Ramona Falls and one third of the band Menomena, has a true gift for timing and instrumentation. Every note from every instrument is perfectly placed and evokes raw emotion.

He has an amazing gift to transition from quiet and ethereal to raw power several times within the same song.

When I got to work, I IM’ed my friend who also likes them to tell her I was overcome with Ramona Falls songs. In a moment of great serendipity, she explained she had undergone the same phenomena on her way to work that morning. As we started talking, we both couldn’t help but wonder when Brent was going to produce another album.

So we asked our friend who used to work with him at Barsuk Records. Well, this morning, he came back with an answer.

He sent me this link to Pitchfork with the news that Ramona Falls new album, Prophet, is due out May 1, and the first song from it – Spore – is now available for download.

I was almost afraid to listen to it for fear that the near-religious experience of Intuit would be shattered. Thankfully, Knopf continues where he left off. Spore seems like an extension of Intuit, with layers of melody and percussion that are well-timed and beautifully mixed.

I found Spore on YouTube already, so take a listen.

But if you haven’t heard Ramona Falls before, I’d start here, instead, and work your way (the percussion, along with his singing and the way the song evolves gets me every time) …

– My name is Jon Friesch, and the new Ramona Falls album is the best news I’ve heard all day.