Neko Case & Antony Get Their Album Art Freak On

It's only December 11, but already 2009 is shaping up to be a year in memorable album art. First we found out that for Middle Cyclone (due out March 3), Neko Case has turned herself into the most badass hood ornament in history:

Then Antony and the Johnsons reveal that their upcoming album, The Crying Light (due out Jan. 20), looks even crazier. Here's Naoya Ikegami's 1977 portrait of Kzauo Ohno—a famous Butoh dancer to whom Antony dedicated the album: "He's kind of like my art parent."



"I watched him cast a circle of light upon the stage, and step into that circle, and reveal the dreams and reveries of his heart," says the avant indie singer. "He seemed to dance in the eye of something mysterious and creative; with every gesture he embodied the child and the feminine divine."

Hey Decemberists... game on.