Moments ago, ZZ Top's publicist Bob Merlis officially announced the title and release date of the trio's first studio album since 2003's Mescalero, a record even many diehard fans were starting to doubt was real. LA FUTURA will be released September 11 on American Recordings, the recently rebooted label run by ZZ producer/guru/fourth beard Rick Rubin.

Because everything's bigger in Texas, the title is indeed in all caps. Co-produced by Rubin and guitarist Billy F. Gibbons (Rev.), the album is meant to show all the many young turks who learned from ZZ that the nasty dogs and funky kings are still good for a thing or two.

From the statement:

At its fundament, this is the incarnation of the band whose influence resonates today with such artists as The Black Keys, Jack White Queens of the Stone Age and many others.

"We thought long and hard about what this album should be," Gibbons says later. "We wanted to recall the directness of our early stuff but not turn our backs on contemporary technology. The result of this melding of the past and the present is, of course, LA FUTURA."

But LA FUTURA is also a tribute to the language of such vintage Top albums Tres Hombres, Tejas, Fandango, Deguello and El Loco. In fact, after Rio Grande Mud in 1972, their next album title in English was 1983's Eliminator in 1983. No one knows what language Rhythmeen (1996) is.

The album contains four songs from the digital-only Texicali EP, which was released on iTunes in June to what the release says "significant sales and critical success." We certainly enjoyed it.

LA FUTURA track listing:

1. I Gotsta Get Paid 2. Chartreuse 3. Consumption 4. Over You 5. Heartache in Blue 6. I Don't Wanna Lose, Lose, You 7. Flyin' High 8. It's Too Easy Mañana 9. Big Shiny Nine 10. Have a Little Mercy

ZZ Top also announced a round of fall tour dates of the West Coast and Northeast after the band summers in Europe. No Houston show was announced, but that's gonna be some homecoming.