Despite the prank/miscommunication by Bloc Party mid-2011 that suggested that the band were searching for a replacement singer for Kele Okereke due to his solo commitments, it seems that everything is back on track for the band who are gearing up for the release of a new studio album.

Their mysterious fourth album has now been confirmed after much speculation, including from the band members themselves who doubted the project would ever get off the ground. “If you’d have asked me after Reading (the last show the band played together) then I’d have said probably not,” Okereke told the BBC.

The British group have been on hiatus since September 2009 after releasing their third album Intimacy in 2008. Okereke also confirmed in an interview with the BBC that the foursome had recorded two new songs and demoed 17 more.

“It’s nice to feel that the music we’re making is the sound of all us in a room together again because we haven’t done that for a while,” said Okereke. “We’ve all felt that whatever energy was there in the beginning was definitely still there. That’s the reason for making the record again.

“I think the people that will be into indie music now will be the people that love it. That’s somewhat liberating. We can do whatever we want now and people will come to it on its own terms. I’m excited about the idea of making rock music again.

“It feels like the record that we’re making doesn’t sound like anyone else on the planet – that’s a really good feeling.” No release date has been set yet but the group are looking for a release sometime in 2012.

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