Four years have passed since his last solo release, but Darren Hayes (ex-Savage Garden) is back with “Talk Talk Talk,” the first single and video from Secret Codes And Battleships, on deck for October.

Co-written with Swedish producer Carl Falk (Matthew Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger), Hayes describes “Talk Talk Talk” as “peace talks between two lovers at war.” Relationship angst riding atop a lush club beat? This is the kind of couples counseling I can accept being party to.

The accompanying music video is gorgeous, an animated affair with Hayes as its center that recalls both the cut-and-paste collage asethetic of Tears For Fears’ “Sowing The Seeds Of Love” and the stop-motion revelation that was Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.”

“The music video is a moving piece of art based on the work of album cover designer John Gilsenan,” states a post on Hayes’ website. “Written and directed by Richard Cullen in collaboration with animator and filmmakers Andrew Philip and Gavin Elder, it is a moving representation of the world of the new album.”

Well, until all is revealed later this fall, we’ll just go with ‘gorgeous.’

Perhaps even more exciting than Darren Hayes’ return to pop is his decision to cover Madonna’s “Angel” as the b-side to “Talk Talk Talk,” one of my top Madge singles of the ever.

Purchase Darren Hayes – “Talk Talk Talk” / “Angel” via iTunes.