Year: 2013

The Ocean Blue streams new album 'Ultramarine,' announces initial U.S. tour dates

The Ocean Blue streams new album ‘Ultramarine,’ announces initial U.S. tour dates

The Ocean Blue releases its first album 13 years next week, but you don’t have to wait until Tuesday to hear Ultramarine — the full album is now streaming at AOL’s Spinner. Plus, the band has now announced some initial U.S. tour dates this May and June, not to mention a trip to Peru.

Free MP3: Wire, 'Love Bends' — reworked 1980 track off 'Change Becomes Us'

Free MP3: Wire, ‘Love Bends’ — reworked 1980 track off ‘Change Becomes Us’

Wire have offered up a second taste of their upcoming 13th album Changes Becomes Us — which is due out March 25 — in the form of “Love Bends,” which, like the rest of the material on the new album, is part of the band’s “exploration of unrecorded material originally written in 1979-80.”

Ian McCulloch unveils 'Holy Ghosts' 2CD set with studio album, live orchestral reworkings

Ian McCulloch unveils ‘Holy Ghosts’ 2CD set with studio album, live orchestral reworkings

Ian McCulloch next month will release a new 2CD set called ‘Holy Ghosts’ that combines the fan-funded studio album ‘Pro Patria Mori’ he released in limited quantities last year with an unreleased 15-track live set of “orchestral reworkings” of solo tracks and Bunnymen classics recorded last May.

Andy Gill debuts new song, album plans as Gang of Four moves on without Jon King

Andy Gill debuts new song, album plans as Gang of Four moves on without Jon King

Gang of Four today premiered a brand-new song and a brand-new lineup, with vocalist John “Gaoler” taking the place of founding member Jon King, who had participated in the group’s mid-2000s reunion and 2011 studio album Content. Stream the new song “Broken Talk,” which premiered today on Pitchfork.

Stream: Meat Puppets, 'Down' — first single off forthcoming album 'Rat Farm'

Stream: Meat Puppets, ‘Down’ — first single off forthcoming album ‘Rat Farm’

Meat Puppets return this spring with their 14th studio album — the 12-track Rat Farm — and now you can get your first taste of the record, in the form of lead-off single “Down,” which is streaming via the YouTube embed posted here. The album is due out April 16 on Megaforce Records.

Video: OMD, 'Metroland' — plus hear 3 remixes of 'English Electric' lead single

Video: OMD, ‘Metroland’ — plus hear 3 remixes of ‘English Electric’ lead single

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark today premiered the video for “Metroland,” the first official single off the band’s upcoming album English Electric, and it’s in animated clip in a similar vein to the pair of teaser clips the band released in the lead-up to the actual single.

Video: 'Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart' official trailer

Video: ‘Every Everything: The Music, Life & Times of Grant Hart’ official trailer

Gorman Bechard, director of the 2011 documentary “Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements,” is putting the finishing touches on a new film called “Every Everything” about former Hüsker Dü drummer, singer and songwriter Grant Hart — and he’s once again turning to fans for financial support for the project.

Playlist: Slicing Up Eyeballs Music Hour on Strangeways Radio; Episode 111, aired 3/12/13

This week’s Slicing Up Eyeballs Music Hour is tied to our Top 100 Albums of 1980 list, and features music from records appearing on that countdown, including songs by The Clash, X, Joy Division, Echo & The Bunnymen, Japan, John Foxx, Talking Heads, The Feelies and more.

The Cure, New Order return to North America this summer for Montreal's Osheaga Festival

The Cure, New Order return to North America this summer for Montreal’s Osheaga Festival

The Cure and New Order each will return to North America this summer, as both bands were announced this week as headliners at Montreal’s three-day Osheaga Festival Musique et Arts in early August — a billing that will put the two legendary acts just hours away from Chicago, which hosts Lollapalooza that same weekend.

Stream: The House of Love, 'She Paints Words in Red' — first new album in 7 years

Stream: The House of Love, ‘She Paints Words in Red’ — first new album in 7 years

We’re still two weeks out from the release of ‘She Paints Words in Red’ — The House of Love’s first new album in seven years — but Cherry Red Records this morning put the full 12-track record up on Soundcloud for all to hear. Check out a stream of the full record, the band’s first since 2005, right here.

Dead Can Dance to release 'In Concert' live album next month

Dead Can Dance to release ‘In Concert’ live album next month

Dead Can Dance will commemorate its ongoing reunion with a new live CD called ‘In Concert’ that also will be released in expanded digital and triple-vinyl formats, capturing performances from the band’s 2012 U.S. tour.

Video: Watch Depeche Mode's full 48-minute 'Live on Letterman' concert

Video: Watch Depeche Mode’s full 48-minute ‘Live on Letterman’ concert

Depeche Mode tonight formally launched its new album Delta Machine with the kick-off performance of the 2013 season of the “Live on Letterman” concert series, playing a live concert that was webcast on CBS.com and VEVO — and for those who were in the Big Apple, it also was shown live in Times Square.

Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s, Part 2: Vote for your top albums of 1981

Slicing Up Eyeballs’ Best of the ’80s, Part 2: Vote for your top albums of 1981

Our year-long Best of the ’80s feature continues this month as we turn to 1981, and once again ask Slicing Up Eyeballs’ readers to weigh in on their favorite albums of that year in our ongoing quest to rank the releases of each year of the decade over the course of 2013.