Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been forced to bring the release date of their new album forward after it leaked online.

'It's Blitz', will now be released digitally on March 9th and on physical formats on April 6th.

The album had originally been due for release in April, but appeared on various file sharing websites last month.

In a message on their MySpace page, the band said: "The cat's out of the bag after IT'S BLITZ! escaped from our clutches into the big bad world last week. Why should some have and some have-not?

"YYYs have been brimming with nervous excitement in anticipation of releasing this record to the world! Leaks are NO FUN but it's out of our hands."

As previously reported, Yeah Yeah Yeahs will play a short UK tour in April.

(by Jason Gregory)