Arctic Monkeys, the small-town Sheffield teenagers turned household name, have announced that they’re are back in the lab for another long-awaited full-length album. Drummer extraordinaire Matt Helders hinted toward a late 2017 release date, but now it seems the band is shooting for 2018, or else “they’ve got problems,” said bassist Nick O’Malley. While the information at hand is vague, this is a good sign for all Monkeys’ fans who have been eagerly waiting since 2013’s greasy pop release, AM. Hopefully a single or album cover will see the light of day soon. 

Arctic Monkeys are one of the few rock bands left that has the ability to break through the mainstream without cutting corners. From high school punk to stadium shaking rock ‘n’ roll, Arctic Monkeys shapeshift from album to album, with Alex Turner’s ever endearing voice keeping the band from being unrecognizable. As far as this next album goes, it’s anyone’s guess what direction they may take it. Matt Helder has been working with Iggy Pop during the band’s hiatus, as well as bonafide rockstar Josh Homme. As for the rest of the members, things have been quiet –save Turner’s constantly running side-project, Last Shadow Puppets. Seeing that AM remains the best selling vinyl of the decade, the band has their work cut out for them, which may be a reason for the silence. That, or they might be planning to pull a classic Arctic Monkeys move and completely switch up their sound without regard to what the fans might want or expect.

If you’re new to Arctic Monkeys, we suggest starting with their starry-eyed debut album, What people say I am, That’s What I’m Not, which had everyone across the U.K. clamoring to know more about the teenage overnight stars. If the youthful energy and acrobatic chaos doesn’t do it for you, AM’s glossy sheen might be what you need to get into Sheffield’s best. However, until there’s more news from the band themselves, we will be sitting on our hands eagerly awaiting with the old stuff on repeat.