A ball park release date has been issued for the arrival of the new Strokes album, with drummer and former Drew Barrymore flame (dammit, get out of my head trashy gossip mags) Fab Morretti hopeful that fans can rest easy sometime in September.

Talking with BBC Newsbeat this week, Moretti said that basic song structures have been layed down for their fourth album in Avatar Studios in their native New York.

“We’ve been recording a bunch, basic tracks are layed down. Now we’re just running around like kids in a candy store.”

The recent recording sessions have seen the quintet all bring something to the table in the form of a ‘may the best man win’ type scenario.

“(It’s) pretty much a free for all. Whoever has the best idea contributes.”

It’s been a torturous wait for fans of The Strokes. The long-awaited follow-up to 2006’s First Impressions Of Earth has some pretty big boots to fill; singles like “Juicebox,” “You Only Love Once” and “Heart In A Cage” dominated charts, Triple J’s Hottest 100 and this writers headspace for many months.

Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Chicarelli will head up production duties. His previous belt notches include U2, The Shins, The White Stripes and My Morning Jacket.

The Strokes’ front man Julian Casablancas has stomped some ground for the new release with his solo work from Phrazes For The Young being blasted across our airwaves this summer. The suave, dry, monotone from this young man’s lips is just enough to top us up and tide us over until the album is released in the latter half of 2010.

Stay tuned.

- Carley Hall