The duo continued to work in Benge's studio in Shoreditch throughout 2010 and some new tracks were previewed at the Short Circuit electronic music festival held at The Roundhouse in London on 5 June 2010.
On 28 October 2011, it was announced that the final UK date in Holmfirth and the performance at the Sinners Day Festival in Belgium had to be cancelled as Foxx had suffered a fall and minor accident.
The Shape of Things was issued as a limited edition special package, and described as being "a lot rougher around the edges and more experimental than “Interplay” – with songs and stark, minimal sketches..mixed in with some instrumental interludes".
[3] When released via Townsend Records on 31 October 2011, the album was described as "though not overtly auto-biographical, there is a sense of looking back over a life and exploring feelings of loss over opportunities and lovers missed, and possible futures that will remain unlived".
The album brings together various new collaborations with contemporary artists such as The Soft Moon, Gazelle Twin, Xeno & Oaklander, Tara Busch and Matthew Dear.
Personnel include former Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon, Benge, Jean-Gabriel Becker, Jori Hulkkonen, Serafina Steer, Steve D'Agostino and Liam Hutton.
In January 2013, it was announced that John Foxx and the Maths would once more be playing live as support to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on their forthcoming UK tour to promote their new album English Electric, in April and May of the same year.
The three-piece band performed nine songs from both Foxx's solo and The Maths repertoires and were generally positively received by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark fans.
[7] At the end of 2015, the York Theatre Royal announced a new production of E.M. Forster's short story The Machine Stops featuring a brand new soundtrack composed by John Foxx and Benge.
T Foxx said The Machine Stops “I’d read it in 1964 when I was at school and it had fascinated me then,” adding that his love of Yorkshire, where he lived as a lecturer at Leeds College of Art, was a further reason for his interest in the collaboration.
The deluxe edition also included a DVD consisting of 11 films created by Macoto Tezka with music by John Foxx and the Maths.
[14] The album and lead single, features former Foxx-era Ultravox guitarist Robin Simon, joining Benge and Hannah Peel as part of The Maths after previously guesting with them at their debut Roundhouse show in 2010.