It’s been five long years since Modest Mouse released ‘We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank,’ but ever so slowly, it looks like the band is inching toward a release date for their next album. They gave fans a taste of their new music over the weekend, unveiling a new song during a gig at Stanford University.

The new song, ‘Heart of Mine,’ is the third glimpse of the band’s work in progress over the last year; roughly a year ago, they debuted a pair of new songs — titled ‘Poison the Well’ and ‘Lampshades on Fire’ — during their performance at the 2011 Sasquatch Festival. You can check out embeds for all three songs below, and consider them a sort of mini-EP to tide you over until the band finishes whatever it’s up to in the studio.

We still don’t have a release date for the next record, but we do know the band has been working with Big Boi, who told Twitter followers last April that he had “been camped out in the Lab with Modest Mouse all week” and called them the “coolest cats ever.” He then added, “Long Live the Funk,” which — at least judging from the songs we’ve heard so far — wouldn’t seem to have much to do with the new music. Perhaps they’re keeping the funk hidden for now.

In the meantime, Modest Mouse will hit the road in late June for a series of gigs that is scheduled to take them around the Northeast, kicking off on June 20 in Washington, D.C. and concluding six days later in Columbus, Ohio. We’ll keep an ear out for more new songs.

Watch Modest Mouse Perform ‘Heart of Mine’

Watch Modest Mouse Perform ‘Poison the Well’

Watch Modest Mouse Perform ‘Lampshades on Fire’

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