EMI Records are currently discussing the “best date” to release Lily Allen's second album, 'Stuck on the Naughty Step', according to industry sources.

Allen had expressed her concern over the delay behind the album, which she delivered to record bosses earlier in the summer.

In a post on her Myspace blog, she blamed the instability caused after the label's recent acquisition by private equity company Terra Firma.

"The record industry is a very political place at the moment and I am on EMI records, lots of people have been fired or have taken redundancy recently,” she wrote.

Responding to the singer's comments, a source for EMI told Music Week: “We’re excited about the music we’ve heard and everyone’s now discussing the best date for the release of the record.”

Allen has already previewed a number of songs from the album on her website.

Speaking about the most recent addition, 'Who'd Of Known', she said it wouldn't make the record because its chorus resembles a Take That song.

(by Jason Gregory)