From Ultimate-Guitar.com:
R.E.M. front man Michael Stipe has fuelled speculation that the band will release a new album in 2008 with a cryptic message to fans.
Stipe was attending a lunchbox auction for charity in New York when he revealed that the band had been in the studio recording new material.
He said: “Let me tell you a secret: we have a great fucking record in the bag. It’s a big change. It’s coming out on April Fool’s Day.”
April Fool’s Day 2008 is in fact a Tuesday, the usual day for album releases in the US.
R.E.M.’s last studio album was 2004’s ‘Around The Sun’.