How old were you when No Doubt last released an album? What if we told you the band’s last full-length, Rock Steady, came out in 2001 — 11 years ago? Did you know you’d been waiting such a very long time for something new from the Southern California group?

Your wait will soon come to an end. No Doubt have finally announced they will release a new album on September 25, 2012.

In fairness, the world did get a new track on their 2003 compilation The Singles 1992-2003. The group covered an ’80s Talk Talk hit, “It’s My Life.”

And singer Gwen Stefani has stayed in the public eye with a pair of solo albums, as the face of L’Oreal Paris, her L.A.M.B. fashion line, and maintaining a constant presence in weekly gossip mags.

The official YouTube announcement is already teasing the band’s anxiety to share new music, so between now and September they’re certain to give fans some previews of what is to come. In the meantime, you’re best bet is to follow the group on Twitter, where they’ve been actively documenting their time in the studio with loads of pictures and on-going updates about what they’re tracking each day. As recently as April they Tweeted that they were still writing so if you’d like to send in your ideas of what Stefani and Tony Kanal should write songs about, there’s still time.

-Courtney E. Smith, CBS Local