First single from Melt-Banana's latest!

Here it is, "The Hive," the first single from Melt-Banana's upcoming album fetch.  This song may continue too much of what we call "melody" in the traditional sense for some fans-- I'm guessing. because there's an element to any band's following that is resistant to any change and bands like Melt-Banana are already enough out of the mainstream they attract this in droves-- but judging from my first listen, the band builds on the more accessible elements of its last album, Bambi's Dilemma, while still offering enough of their characteristic propulsive beats and sonic weirdness the sound remains instantly recognizable.

In less pretentious terms-- I like it.  I like it a lot.

Melt-Banana's new album...

That's right, MxBx has a new album coming out.  They haven't made the street date official, but the aiming point is spring, 2012.  They originally wanted to release it to coincide with their North American tour this fall, but "things [haven't gone] smoothly," according to their newsletter.

Well, that's something to look forward to for those of us who probably won't get to see them live as they swing through the US and Canada.