The fictional band Mouse Rat from the TV series Parks and Recreation will be releasing a real album titled The Awesome Album on August 27 via Dualtone in partnership with Entertainment 720. The Awesome Album features 13 original Mouse Rat songs, including fan favorites “The Pit” and “Sex Hair,” as well as two tracks by Scott Tanner, the frontman behind the Pawnee band Land Ho! One of those bonus tracks, dubbed “Cold Water,” features a saxophone solo by Duke Silver a.k.a. Ron Swanson a.k.a. Nick Offerman.
The date of this announcement marks the 10-year anniversary of when Mouse Rat performed “5,000 Candles In The Wind” during the funeral of Li’l Sebastian, the town’s miniature horse and the official mascot of Pawnee. As such, the recorded version of the song arrives with a music video that serves as a tribute to Li’l Sebastian and an introductory video by Perd Hapley, the host of Pawnee’s own news show Ya Heard? With Perd!, who invites viewers to “gently weep” along with him to the song.
Pre-orders for The Awesome Album are currently ongoing, including limited-edition vinyl, CD and cassette tapes. Check out some of the songs from the album below: