Peter Gabriel plans to follow up this year’s long-in-the-works ‘Scratch Your Back’ — his disc of orchestral cover versions of some of his favorite songs — next year with another orchestral album, one that this time will feature new takes on his own songs.

Former XTC figurehead Andy Partridge this week releases ‘Powers,’ a 12-track, limited-edition album featuring ‘aural sculptures’ inspired by the late sci-fi book-jacket artist Richard M. Powers. Hear audio samples from the album.

Breaking up two years ago hasn’t slowed Ministry’s output: Al Jourgensen’s defunct industrial-metal juggernaut next month will release ‘MiXXXes of the Molé,’ a track-by-track ‘trance metal’ remix of the band’s 2004 album ‘Houses of the Molé.’

Crooner Bryan Ferry enlisted a star-studded cast — including Roxy Music bandmates Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay — for this fall’s ‘Olympia,’ his first album of new material in eight years and his first recorded collaboration with those ex-bandmates since 1973’s ‘For Your Pleasure.’

The members of R.E.M. today marked the release of the 25th anniversary edition of ‘Fables of the Reconstruction’ by looking to their future, announcing they’ve ‘just completed recording their next record in Berlin.’

Short-lived British postpunk act The Pop Group — which somehow melded punk, dub, noise and funk — will reunite this September after nearly 30 years apart, with four concerts scheduled in the U.K. and Italy and a new album reportedly in the works.