Arcade Fire is set to release its as-yet-untitled fifth album in 2017.
Speaking from Paris, where the band is currently recording the followup to 2013's Reflektor, Arcade Fire bassist/guitarist Tim Kingsbury tells CBC Music the Grammy-winning group is "in the middle of a new record."
"We'll probably be working for a few more months," Kingsbury says, adding the resulting album will be out "sometime next year."
Earlier this month, Arcade Fire began their first tour in two years – including a headline set at the WayHome festival just outside Toronto on July 23 – which Kingsbury says is intended to reinvigrate the group. "We're doing these shows because it's been so long and it's nice to get back into it," he explains. "It's a way to put a little burst of energy back into the [recording] process."
Along with his Arcade Fire duties, Kingsbury has been keeping busy with his own projects – including composing the theme to CBC's Love Me podcast and the upcoming debut from his own group, Sam Patch, which is rounded out by fellow Montreal musician Basia Bulat and Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara.
"I'm mastering my record next week, actually," Kingsbury says. "My goal was to have it out in the fall but I don't have a firm release date yet."
Kingsbury's album timeline lines up with what Arcade Fire guitarist Will Butler said in a June Reddit AMA, cautiously guessing the album will come out in spring 2017 while noting there's "no definite schedule though. It’ll be done when it’s done.”