Courtney Love
gearing up to release new material

Former first lady of grunge Courtney Love is wrapping up her first album since 2004's ill-fated America's Sweetheart. Love has been working under the tutelage of former 4 Non Blondes singer-turned-producer Linda Perry, whose Custard label will release the disc sometime next year.

Love's struggle with drugs, alcohol, and a string of assault charges has been well-documented since she first burst onto the music scene as the charismatic frontwoman of the now-defunct band Hole. Perry walked out on recording sessions for America's Sweetheart due to Love's problems: "I said, 'When you want to make music, give me a call,'" Perry told Billboard.

Love later did a stint in rehab where she spent much of her time writing songs and reconnected with Perry, who brought her a guitar.

"My hand-eye coordination was so bad I didn't even know [guitar] chords anymore," Billboard reported Love as saying. "It was like my fingers were frozen. And I wasn't allowed to make noise [in rehab]. So I'd sit there and try to quietly write and struggle. I never thought I would work again. No one is ever going to talk to me. I'm never going to get a record deal. I'm never going to get onstage again. So I just kept writing. This is a very personal album."

Love will also release a collection of her diaries and letters in book form next month. "It's an insight into how I think. Not sure that's a good thing or not. But it's me." (The Advocate)