The Shins have completed work on their fifth studio album, according to frontman James Mercer in a recent interview with KBOO 90.7 in Portland (via CoS). The album will arrive “early next year,” with Mercer hoping for a January 2017 release date. Find the full audio clip below, with Mercer discussing the finished state of the record around the 21:19 mark.

Elsewhere in the interview, Mercer discusses the album’s creation. It was produced by Mercer himself, and he describes the new record to be closer in sound to the Shins’ first three albums than 2012’s Port of Morrow (which was co-produced with Greg Kurstin). “I’m really excited about this record... I think we’ve got something that Shins fans will really love, and I think there’s some other things on there that are different enough. I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I’ve used historically for the band,” Mercer said. “I think it’s really strong. I think lyrically, I’m better than I ever was. And I think my songwriting is stronger than it ever was.” Find that around the 55 minute mark.

The Shins recently announced their return to live performance, and shared a Beatles cover for Netflix’s “Beat Bugs” show.

Watch the Shins’ video for “Simple Song”: