Veruca Salt's Louise Post will be returning this fall with a new band, a new label, and a new look: the dark-haired singer has gone platinum blonde.

Post, the last remaining original member of the group, is continuing on under the Veruca Salt banner following the departure of co-star Nina Gordon in 1998 (see [article id="1429653"]"Nina Gordon Leaves Veruca Salt"[/article]).

The singer told MTV News on Tuesday that the third Veruca Salt LP is now finished (with the exception of a few minor overdubs) and it should be out at the end of the year.

According to Post, the group's new songs include "Officially Dead," "Yeah Man," "Bombshells And Pin-Ups," "Pretty Boys," "Wet Suit," "Used To Know Her," "Imperfectly," "The Same Person," "Hellraiser," "Best You Can Get," "Disconnected," and "Born Entertainer." She declined to reveal the title of the upcoming album.

The bulk of the recording was done at Gravity Studios in Chicago with partner Brian Liesegang (Ashtar

Command, ex-Filter), who also co-wrote several of the new tracks, at the controls. Other tracks were recorded in Liesegang's home studio.

Musicians on the album include drummer Jimmy Madla (a.k.a. Tasty Jimmy or Tasty J) as well as guitarist Steve Fitzpatrick, who played with Post on a song cut for the soundtrack to "The Avengers." Matt Walker (ex-Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, currently in the Cupcakes) makes guest appearances on three songs, and Eric Remschneider (who has played with the Pumpkins and Hole) provides some cello. Former Triple Fast Action bassist Kevin Tihista also helped out, as did former Failure drummer Kelly Scott.

Post is also currently putting together a new set of back-up musicians at home in Chicago. According to her co-manager, Pete Riedling, Post's live band will most likely include Madla, Fitzpatrick, and a female back-up vocalist.

Meanwhile, Post is temporarily without a label, but she told MTV News she is being courted by several and expects to sign

a new deal in the very near future. She takes exception to reports that say she had been dropped by her old label, Outpost, and sets the record straight in a message on a Veruca Salt fan site called "The Saltshaker.

The fact is, my management advised me to request departure from this new corporate conglomerate with my most recent masters in hand -- a request that was, thankfully, granted," Post explained in her message. She added that none of the Geffen personnel who previously represented her had survived the label's merger with Interscope. "They all either jumped ship before it hit the iceberg, or were unceremoniously canned via video," wrote Post, adding that she is now a free agent and the owner of "the best music I have ever made.

In her message to "The Saltshaker," Post also revealed that the new album will include "a collection of songs coming straight from my life and my heart, undiluted by the unavoidable clutter and complications of collaboration." She added that she

is "carrying the V.S. torch in the spirit for which it was originally intended." The departed Gordon, meanwhile, is set to release her solo album, "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," on Outpost in August.