I, like many of you, scour the internet for news on Spoon with some regularity. Apparently a rumor that the Get Up Kids (a band Rob Pope is in) were going to break up after their European tour surfaced, and the band issued a press release clarifying that the band is going to take a small break to go in different directions.
At this point, they cited each members happenings, including Rob's: "Rob Pope is likely working on a new Spoon album (Britt Daniel has spent the year writing new songs for the next release)."
And this is recent! Here's the link: http://thepunksite.com/news/2011/10/03/get-up-kids-not-breaking-up/
It's just nice to know the band isn't dead!