Panda Bear sat down with BBC6’s Lauren Laverne today and confirmed what Animal Collective fans have been hoping for: The band will hit the studio this year to record a new album, the follow-up to 2012’s Centipede Hz. Here’s how “Mr. Noah” Lennox described the buildup:

I’ve spent the past five weeks or so furiously trying to crank out stuff, and I’m sure Dave [Portner] is doing the same. I’m sure all of the guys are working on stuff. No concrete plans to go into the studio as of yet, no dates or anything, but I think it’s safe to say that some time this year we’ll record.

OK, that’s pretty loose, but it’s something. Listen to the interview here, and read our review of Panda Bear’s recent solo album Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper here.