Matt Helders appears to have given an update on the progress and potential release date of Arctic Monkeys‘ new album.
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Aside from the growth of Alex Turner’s new beard, news from the Sheffield indie stars has been relatively quiet over the last few years. A number of photos of the band seemingly in the studio emerged earlier this year, sparking speculation that work was well underway on album No.6 – before rumours of them making their comeback at TRSNMT Festival turned out to be false.
Now, Monkeys fan Will Franco, aka ‘scummyman’, shared a photo of himself with Helders after he met the drummer at a recent Royal Blood gig at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
In the comment section beside the photo, one fan asked if he questioned Helders about a potential release date of the new record – to which he replied: “I did. He told me hopefully by the end of the year.”
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It was previously reported that the band had reunited to start work on their sixth album in their native Sheffield just before Christmas. Then in the following months, Matt Helders shared a photo of his drum kit surrounded by microphones while other photos emerged of the band at work in the studio in the US.
An Arctic Monkeys’ spokesman said ‘no comment’ when approached by NME for a comment.