Eight years after the release of his acclaimed number one second album '9', Damien Rice is returning with a new record entitled 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' - and from what we've heard, the result looks like an exciting prospect.

Damien Rice 2014 promo
Damien Rice finally returns with album three

The Irish singer-songwriter crooned his way into the hearts of thousands with his easy listening first albums - 2002's 'O' and 2006's '9' - and tracks such as 'Cannonball' and '9 Crimes', and now he's preparing to come back in style as he teams up with pioneering record producer Rick Rubin (who lent his artistic hand to the likes of Jake Bugg's 'Shangri La', Lady Gaga's 'Artpop' and Ed Sheeran's 'X' in recent times) for his significantly longer titled third release. The album's title track was debuted by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 and will be available for free with every pre-order, with the first single 'I Don't Want To Change You' due to follow shortly.

Listen to title track 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' here:

More: Read our review of '9'

It's been a long time coming for Rice's new material, which was certainly a shame given the immense success of '9'; a worldwide success that reached number one in Ireland and was also nominated for a BRIT award. 'Sometimes you have to step away from what you love in order to learn how to love it again', Rice admitted, describing 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' as being 'sung straight into the metaphorical mirror'. It's a much more mature venture, and an acceptance from Rice about where he is in his life.

Damien Rice 'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' artwork
'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' hits shelves in November

As for working with the seminal Rick Rubin in both LA and Reykjavik, Iceland, Rice insisted that the attraction was based on the fact that 'I just had a feeling that I would feel comfortable being open and being me and being vulnerable with Rick', while Rubin himself admits that he's been a fan since Rice's first album tour. 'A lot of our work together was to help him see what was so clear to everyone else in the room', he explained.

More: What did Jake Bugg have to tell us about working with Rick Rubin?

'My Favourite Faded Fantasy' will be released in the UK on November 3rd 2014, with first single 'I Don't Want To Change You' out later in September.