Beck [ tickets ], who has spent most of the last year touring behind 2005's "Guero," has announced his first dates in support of his next release, "The Information," which is due to hit store shelves Oct. 3.

The just-announced shows will roughly coincide with the new disc's release, kicking off with an Oct. 12 appearance in Nashville. The singer will play a few previously announced engagements, including a Sept. 27 show in Chula Vista, CA with Tom Petty, before heading out for the new dates.

The five-city trek will feature the puppets that accompanied Beck on his recent West Coast and European tours. Designed by Los Angeles-based Puppetown Productions, the puppets mimic the actions of the onstage performers and will be shown on the arena's video screens in place of the actual musicians.

The singer/songwriter began to record "The Information" with producer Nigel Godrich even before his latest release, last year's "Guero," was issued. Work on "The Information" was put aside as Beck toured and Godrich--who was also behind the board for Beck's "Mutations" and "Sea Change" albums--worked on other projects. The two finished up the forthcoming set earlier this year.

"The Information" is comprised of 15 songs and a DVD that includes "homemade" videos for each track, all shot in the studio during the recording sessions, according to a press release.

In a unique twist, fans can create their own album cover: the CD/DVD will be sold in a blank package with one of four sticker sheets designed by artists selected by Beck.

Homemade videos for various tracks on the album can already be found on Beck's official website and his MySpace page, as well as other places on the Web.