There's bad news and good news, Conor Oberst fans. The bad news: You still have more than a month to wait for Cassadaga, the forthcoming album from the Omaha singer-songwriter and his band Bright Eyes (now whittled down to a core trio of Oberst, multi-instrumentalist Mike Mogis and horn player Nate Walcott).

The good news: You can get a taste of what's in store on the rootsy Four Winds EP.

With half a dozen fully formed tracks that tally nearly half an hour, this is practically an album on its own. And a good one to boot. The titular single finds the shivery-voiced Oberst spilling disturbing lyrics about bodies decomposing in abandoned buildings -- over top of a spry country-rock bounce laced with fiddle.

The five bonus cuts range from pretty string-flecked pop to ragged Crazy Horse roots-rock to Dylan-circa-Nashville-Skyline balladry to urgent post-bluegrass mixed with glitchy textures and ghostly vocals.

If these are the B-sides, the album should be a winner.

Track Listing:

1. Four Winds
2. Reinvent the Wheel
3. Smoke Without Fire
4. Stray Dog Freedom
5. Cartoon Blues
6. Tourist Trap