New Order went on hiatus for a few years after their acrimonious 2007 split with longtime bassist Peter Hook. But they got back together in 2011 and kept touring under that name. They also started playing the new songs “Singularity” and “Plastic” last year. And now they’re just about done with a new album, their first one since Hook left the band. It’s also their first proper studio affair in a solid decade; their last one was 2005’s Waiting For The Sirens’ Call.

Talking to NME, frontman Bernard Sumner says that the album is nearly done, and he calls it “an old-fashioned New Order record”: “It’s going to be finished by spring and maybe released in the summer now. Who knows? The most important thing is what we’ve done sounds amazing.” There’s that classic English modesty!

Hook is still gone, of course, but keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, who hasn’t played with the band since 2002, is back in the fold. Arcade Fire collaborator Craig Silvey is mixing the album, and Chemical Brother Tom Rowlands is working on three songs. Sumner describes the sound thus: “It’s an electronic-sounding album, dance-based but not housey.” For most veteran bands, the term “dance-based” would be the kiss of death, but New Order have been playing around with dance music since the very beginning. Here’s hoping they can pull a comeback off.