Johnny Marr this week debuted the second single off his upcoming third proper solo album Call the Comet, a gentle, mid-tempo rocker called “Hi Hello” that carries just a hint — via the accompanying strings — of The Smiths classic “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Check out the song right here.

World Party mastermind Karl Wallinger has shared an early demo of his band’s 1985 debut single “Ship of Fools,” a sparse composition with different lyrics — most notably the chorus “Sail me all around tomorrow” instead of the familiar refrain of “Save me from tomorrow.” Hear the early version right here.

After last year’s tour of the U.S., Poptone — featuring longtime bandmates Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins, plus Haskins’ daughter Diva Dompe on bass — are preparing their debut EP, a 13-song live radio session featuring performances of originally recorded by Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets and Bauhaus.

Johnny Marr’s third proper solo album — a 12-song collection titled Call the Comet — will be released June 15, and fans can now get their first earful of the ex-Smiths guitar-slinger’s new sounds via first single “The Tracers,” which just hit streaming platforms. Stream the first single right here.

The Andy Gill-led Gang of Four returns this month with its first new release in three years, an EP called Complicit that the legendary post-punk act is previewing with the buzzsaw track “Lucky,” which you can stream in full below right here via Soundcloud. The full EP will be released April 13.

The reunited Belly — Tanya Donelly’s post-Throwing Muses, post-Breeders alt-rock outlet — this week debuted the second track, “Stars Align,” off of the forthcoming Dove, the band’s first new album in 23 years, The single, the follow-up to “Shiny One,” can be streamed in full right here.

Former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe this morning debuted a short, 40-second song called “Future, If Future” — featuring his vocals over minimal electronic accompaniment — ahead of this morning March For Our Lives gun-control events across the country. Hear the full song right here.

Former Bauhaus and Love and Rockets bassist David J today shared a sparse — and starkly political — new song that he says he wrote this morning called “Thoughts and Prayers” in response to yesterday’s massacre of 17 students and teachers at a school in Parkland, Fla., and the litany of gun violence in this country.

Former Sonic Youth frontman Thurston Moore today debuted a political broadside called “Mx Liberty,” a new single co-written with poet Radieux Radio that will be released on 7-inch vinyl on Feb. 19 in conjunction with what he’s calling “Not My President’s Day.” Listen to the new single right here.

Indie-rockers Poster Children — the pride of Champaign, Ill. — will release their first new album in 14 years this May, an 11-song set called Grand Bargain! that’s preceded by the politically charged title track, released this weekend to coincide with the first anniversary of the Trump presidency. Hear the first single right here.

Simple Minds today debuted the second single off their forthcoming album Walk Between Worlds, a 5+ minute track called “The Signal and The Noise” that the group says “revisits the glassy guitars and new wave grooves of the post-punk era.” Check it out for yourself right here.

Cleopatra Records a four-song Duran Duran demo recorded in 1979 and featuring early singer Andy Wickett on vocals, a collection that includes the original version of hit single “Girls on Film” and a song called “See Me Repeat Me” that later would be re-worked into the song “Rio.” Stream it here or buy the EP.

Parolophone Records today is marking what would have been David Bowie’s 71st birthday with the digital release of a previously unheard demo version of the singer’s 1983 hit single “Let’s Dance,” the fruit of his collaboration with Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers. Stream the full song right here.