It’s been an awfully long wait between new albums for fans of No Doubt, who’ve had to make do with their old CDs and a 2009 tour to tide them over since the band last surfaced with ‘Rock Steady’ in 2001.

And that wait is about to get a little longer. The band has just dashed hopes that its next release would be in stores before the end of the year, admitting that “it’s just not ready yet.”

No Doubt broke the news with a note on their official website, which reads as follows:

Dear Friends,

We’ve been incommunicado for the past few weeks so we wanted to reach out and say hi. Work on the new No Doubt album is well underway and we can’t wait to share it with you. The past twelve months have been eventful; we performed for Paul McCartney and President Obama at the Kennedy Center Honors, three beautiful new No Doubt babies were born, and we’ve recorded in studios all over Los Angeles. Ideally our new record would be coming out this year but it’s just not ready yet. We don’t want to rush this album just to get it out. This collection of songs means everything to us and our only priority right now is to make sure that it’s the best album we can possibly make. There is still more work for us to do…

We love our fans and are doing this for your ears and want you to know how much we appreciate your patience and support. We’ll keep you updated here at nodoubt.com and on our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Love,

Gwen, Tony, Adrian and Tom

No Doubt

PS. There have been some stories circulating about us collaborating with outside producers and artists. Please don’t believe anything you hear unless it comes from us.

Disappointing as the news might be for fans eager for the band to return — and retailers who were hoping for a new No Doubt record to boost holiday sales — it should at least be comforting to note that they’re taking the time to ensure that the new album will be worth buying…whenever it comes out.

More From KISS FM