Are we really here? Is this really happening? The rumor of a new THREE MILE PILOT album has been circulating for over a decade, further fueling the mystery and mythology that has swirled around the San Diego trio since the 1997 release of what was thought to be their swan song, the enormously influential "Another Desert, Another Sea".

First, a brief history of THREE MILE PILOT: Formed in the early '90s, the group released a debut album to a fair amount of acclaim, followed by "Chief Assassin To The Sinister", an album that garnered the attention of Geffen Records, with whom they signed for all of one album.

After enduring the major label wringer, the group released "Another Desert", their most emotionally resonant and commercially successful record to date.

Shortly after, bassist Zach Smith formed PINBACK with Rob Crow, and singer-guitarist Pall Jenkins began a new project with THREE MILE PILOT keyboardist Tobias Nathaniel.

Both projects were meant to coexist with 3MP, however, both PINBACK and THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION became unexpectedly popular.

Next thing you know, it was 2009 and not a peep had been heard from 3MP in a dozen years.

That brings us to the aptly-named "The Inevitable Past Is The Future Forgotten", the first THREE MILE PILOT album in 13 years, and the first to be written, performed, recorded and produced entirely by the original three members in their own home studios.

As such it is the most uncompromising album since their inception - it also just happens to be their most accessible.

While PINBACK and THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION were obviously influenced by 3MP in their early days, the inverse can now be heard, with many of the songs on "The Inevitable Past" bearing the unmistakable and inevitable stamps of PINBACK and THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION.

This circular influence is what makes the album so brilliant; instead of a proper hiatus, 3MP's progression was charted vicariously through its members' other groups.

As such, "The Inevitable Past" makes good on the promising glimpses heard through a long but breathless wait.

Yes, we are really here!