"We're just about done tracking, and then it needs to be mixed and mastered," said Enigk. "It's just little things here and there, like editing."

The recording process has been an interesting one. With technology, the album was recorded all around the country in several home studios. Working closely with Josh Myers, who co-produced the album, Enigk says, "It's cool that it's being recorded mainly in my house and Josh's house. And everybody - like Joe Skyward, he did the bass at his house in L.A., and Briggs Moran did stuff at his house [with] Pro-Tools, everybody has their own home system now."

Fans will be happy to note Enigk's lyrical inspirations have remained true to form. Though the album still employs orchestral moments like "ROTFQ," "It's not nearly as big, but it does reach big places," says Enigk. "My style of writing, the soul-searching-type lyrics, the acoustic quality [is similar] to 'Frog Queen.'"

Enigk's favorite track, "River to Sea," was inspired by John Lennon. "It's just a really pretty, straight-forward song," he says. "I have the tendency to get super dark or try to get too creative, and this one's just straight-forward and lovely. The song to me is about forgiveness and the importance of that. I've never really sung about that and it's probably my favorite right now."

Another gem is "World Waits," which, according to Enigk, has "a strange melody, but it's another really pretty one.

"[The melody] sort of falls. I start up really high, and then just let it drop and drop and drop and drop - and it just goes for a long time. I run out of breath by the time I'm at the bottom of the melody. It's not your standard melody skiff."

A few of the new tracks were originally written as early as the mid-'90s. "Damian Dreams" cane from that era. "It's insane," describes Enigk. "The drums are really heavy and the drums are sort of the hook on this song to me; it's not about guitar, it's not about bass. It's all about these drums that just suddenly kick your ass. And it gets really angry. I'm not an angry person, but vocally I just scream and at one point just sound like a f**king lion or something."

Perhaps the most surprising track is "City Tonight." "It's definitely the poppiest song I've ever written, and there's a lot of keys in there, you know that snythy sort of '80s sound," Enigk says. Thought it's not his style, "I've always wanted to make a pop song, I've been trying to do it for years, this is probably the closest I've come to it."

Rest assured, Enigk will not be hitting the pop circuit anytime soon. "I'm too quirky...I'm not that good of a musician to write my vision. The songs write themselves, and those are always the best songs - the ones that I really have very little control over."

Enigk is slated to perform August 4 on the Jack Stage at Lollapalooza in Chicago. He will embark on a European tour in July, followed by a four-week North American club tour which will stop in major cities including New York, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Dallas and San Francisco, to name just a few. The complete itinerary will be announced shortly.

On the tour dates, Enigk plans to play all of "Frog Queen" and "I'd like to try and do some covers, maybe mix it up a little bit. Of course I'll play the new record, and if I have anything new by then that I'm writing now, I'll probably play it."

The touring band - all of whom contributed to the new album - will comprise Myers on keyboard, Kannan Tupper on drums, Nick Macri on bass, and Greg Saran on guitar.