Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe have never been ones to sit around and watch the grass grow, and as the duo are still performing at and lining up summer festival gigs that technically serve as the tail end of their Electric Tour (spun off from 2013 LP Electric), they’ve also been banging away at the upcoming 13th Pet Shop Boys album.

“After spending most of the year writing songs for their next album, Pet Shop Boys are leaving the studio to perform three Electric concerts in Spain over the next week,” the iconic British dance-pop pair’s official site announced this week.

In December, the Boys confirmed that Stuart Price, who produced Electric, would be back to collaborate on their upcoming LP. In a Christmas message posted to fans, the following was noted: “In January, Neil and Chris will continue to write songs for their next album which will be produced by Stuart Price.”

Electric made Idolator’s 10 Best Albums Of 2013 list, and earlier that year, Chris Lowe told Idolator the following about working with Stuart Price:

“We like the same things, so it’s a very natural thing for us to work with Stuart. It was effortless, really. When we were writing some of these dance songs [for the album], we clearly imagined Stuart producing them.”

Meanwhile, check out The A.V. Club’s writeup on “West End Girls” setting the standard high for U.K. hip hop. It was posted earlier this week and makes for a pretty fascinating read — plus the piece argues that the 1986 chart-topping hit was the first rap song to reach #1 in the United States.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.