Album number four in the works!

Not many acts get a unanimous seal of approval from FACT staffers, but Portishead’s unbroken run of perfect albums has secured the West Country trio an unshakeable place in our fickle journalist hearts.

Needless to say, we are totally buzzed to hear that the band have begun writing the successor to 2008’s extraordinary Third.

During a Q&A hosted by The Quietus at By:Larm Festival in Oslo earlier today, Adrian Utley revealed that he and his bandmates Geoff Barrow and Beth Gibbons have been “clearing our schedules so we can get on with it, otherwise it will be another ten years.”

Both he and Barrow are “really enthusiastic” about album number four, he said, “and enthusiasm counts for a lot in Portishead world.”

Utley’s recent interest in modular synths and modern composition (as demonstrated on his recent guitar orchestra version of Terry Riley’s ‘In C’), would likely be an influence on Portishead recording sessions, he added.

The band are currently out of contract with any record label, but as all three members have their own studios, Utley believes there will be less financial pressure during recording, and the likely scenario will be Portishead licensing the completed record.

Portishead have been confirmed to headline ATP Iceland this summer.