Musician Carl Barat has opened up about the Libertines' forthcoming new album and revealed that it won't be unveiled any time soon as they're taking their time on it. 

Speaking to the NME at the NME Awards in London this week, he explained: “The Libertines record, that might take a bit more time – but we’re trying to get our project together, so we’ll see how that goes really. That big secret that Pete told everyone!”

When asked how many songs have been written for the new record, Barat added: “We’ve still got fucking two decades’ of stuff, and we’ve still got a lot to write about. There’s a lot of water yet to go under the bridge in many ways so yeah, there’s plenty to do.”

He also confessed that he will be writing and producing with a band named The Jackals: “I’m working a lot with [The Jackals]. I’ve been working with an up and coming artist called Barns Courtney recently, too. We’re about three songs in but there’s a lot there. Everyone’s ready to go for it, we’re all just looking forward to getting it done. Everything’s in place, it’s just about getting the songs written. I’m doing that next week so we’ll see how it goes.”

The Libertines, meanwhile, will perform a one-off gig at Prenton Park (at the Tranmere Rovers Stadium) on Saturday, May 20 and tickets for the show are available now. 

Watch the band in action here: