B&S prepare new LP; Gordon Smart expecting first listen

According to Stuart Murdoch's diary, the new [not-quite a] Belle & Sebastian album is about to go for mastering:

I’m aiming to master all the “God Help The Girl” songs by the end of November. I think there are 18 of them. It’s a good feeling to think about making records. Sleeves and schedules, running orders and what not. It’s been so long since I did it that, I suspect the landscape has changed.

Do you get the same thrill when you look forward to a record coming out? I suppose I must ask the youngsters among you, because age dulls most thrills. But youngsters, where are your thrills coming from? Do you desire the sensation that is the Long Playing Record. Does pop music teach you and hold you and thrill you the way it used to? The way it did to us?

Careful, Stuart - going online and asking young people what thrills them is a little frowned on these days, you know.

[via Muzzle Of Bees]
[UPDATE: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that this isn't quite a Belle And Sebastian release]