Sorry Pitchfork, as much as you want to hype Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion as the first major release of 2009, I do believe a Japanese Comic Punk band has you beaten.

That’s right, everyone’s favorite band from Planet Peelander, Peelander-Z, has officially announced their new album.

It’s entitled P-Pop High School and hits shelves, both physical and virtual, on April 1st.

As usual, they’ll be touring like crazy behind it, with a journey that takes them all around the US, starting in March and ending in May.  What’s awesome?  They’ll have copies of the album in hand before it’s official release date.  So if you’re lucky enough to see them in March, you can check out some P-Z goodness early.

Now, if you please…how do you like your steak?