The indie-pop juggernaut that is Scotland's Belle & Sebastian are working on a new record, it has been revealed. In a message sent to members of their mailing list, they said:

"We’ve been in the studio these last few weeks writing some new tracks and shortly we will say cheerio to Glasgow for a while when we set off to L.A. to record our next album."

An absolute age has passed since the band released their last record, which was 2006's The Life Pursuit. Since then there's been little of note, other than Stuart Murdoch's project that was, and presumably still is, God Help The Girl. They're OK, I guess. There was also the BBC Sessions, which was released in late 2008.

Other than announcing the new material, also scheduled are a few live dates for this summer which, unfortunately, aren't really anywhere around here. Norway's the nearest one. They'll play the Finnish Ruisrock Festival on July 11, the Norwegian Slottsfjell Festival in Tonsberg on July 15 before heading off to Japan for Fuju Festival on August 1.

It'd be a bit rum to not play any shows or festivals in the UK, so fingers crossed that there'll be an announcement of some on these shores pretty soon, or indeed at all. As soon as we know, you'll know. In fairness you'll probably know before we do, so don't be tight with the information, like.