Confirming news that Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson let slip recently on “The Carson Daly Show,” Green Day is in the studio with veteran producer Butch Vig working on the follow-up to 2004’s “American Idiot.”
In a video posted over the weekend on YouTube, the band is seen in the control room as the camera pans over to Vig, who smiles and extends his middle finger. Instrumental bits of two new songs are heard in the background.
Vig is best known for his work on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” but has also logged time behind the boards with Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth, in addition to his musician role in Garbage. Of late, he has produced albums from Jimmy Eat World, Against Me! and Tad.
Green Day worked with producer Rob Cavallo on “American Idiot,” a Grammy-winning smash that has sold 5.8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The group reappeared this spring masquerading as the band Foxboro Hot Tubs, releasing an album and playing a handful of small club shows. The upcoming Green Day album, as-yet-untitled, is expected next year via Warner Bros.