The Ocean Blue to release ‘Ultramarine’ in March, play shows ‘throughout the U.S.’

Reunited indie-pop outfit The Ocean Blue — best known for their chiming 1989 debut single “Between Something and Nothing” — will release Ultramarine, the band’s first new album in 13 years, this March, then play “shows throughout the U.S. starting in April,” according to a post on the group’s Facebook page.

Pushed back from January, the album — the band’s first since 2000′s Davy Jones’ Locker — is due March 19 on Korda Records, the Minneapolis-based label started by the band’s David Schelzel and some friends. The record’s first single and video are expected out in February.

In a news release announcing the album, Schelzel says:

“We chose Ultramarine to reflect several things. The mood of this record is a little blue, and harkens back to our other “blue” record, Cerulean. It’s also a fun play on our name, and we were very conscious of our history as a band making this record. Thinking about our music, what it’s meant to us and others. Asking a lot of existential questions about the band, what it was, is, and could be in the future.”

The album, produced by Schelzel and drummer Peter Anderson, was recorded in Minneapolis and Mt. Gretna, Penn., over the past several years, and is preceded by the release late last year of two brand-new songs, “Blow My Mind” and “A Rose is a Rose,” on a Korda label compilation (stream both here).

Guitarist Oed Ronne says:

“It’s an interesting time for us to be putting out a new record. So much of the music we see and hear now reminds me of things I loved growing up. My friends in their twenties like The Smiths and New Order. It’s a strange thing, but good for us I think. We’d love to reconnect with our old fans, but also make new ones among the ranks of the young.”

The band hasn’t yet announced its touring plans for April, but it has booked a show Feb. 24 at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern.

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• Stream: The Ocean Blue, ‘Blow My Mind’ and ‘A Rose Is A Rose’ — 2 brand-new tracks
• The Ocean Blue to release 2 new songs next week, play 2 live shows in January
• The Ocean Blue to release first new album in more than a decade this January
• Free MP3: The Ocean Blue, ‘Walking in the Air’ — cover of song from ‘The Snowman’
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