British synthpop pioneers Heaven 17 failed to appear at last night’s Violent Femmes-headlined ’80s Weekend #9 concert in Los Angeles, but promised fans today that the visa troubles that kept them away won’t derail their first-ever U.S. tour planned for this May. Full details and tour dates here.

In the wake of founder Andy Gill’s death, post-punk legends Gang of Four this week announced plans to release a new EP later this month of music he’d been working on — three re-recordings of the band’s material that will be accompanied by a pair of spoken-worked interludes from Gill. Hear a track right here.

Dream-pop favorites The Ocean Blue this week shared a gorgeous music video for the equally gorgeous song “Love Doesn’t Make It Easy On Us,” off their 2019 album Kings and Queens/Knaves and Thieves, as the band prepares to play a run of sporadic tour dates through May. Full details right here.

An unexpected cover can be a real delight for music fans, and as a regular Slicing Up Eyeballs reader points out to us, this one’s really out-of-the-blue: Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile and singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz performing The Chameleons’ “Seriocity” last weekend on “Live From Here.” Watch it right here.

Check out the latest installment right here — this week’s episode covers news about the Morrissey-headlined Cruel World festival, Front 242, Erasure, Bryan Ferry, Clan of Xymox and more. Plus, the episode is shot from the Hard Cafe Vault, where Velvet Rebel shows off memorabilia from Devo, Debbie Harry, The Cure and Morrissey.

Midnight Oil is planning to release not one but two new musical projects this year, beginning with an eight-song mini-album called The Makaratta Project recorded with “some of our First Nations friends” to be released this summer, followed by a proper Oils studio album due out later in the year, according to the band’s website.

Coachella promoter Goldenvoice today announced a massive one-day festival in Los Angeles called Cruel World that will be headlined by Morrissey and feature performances by such contemporaries as the reunited Bauhaus, Blondie, Devo and Echo & The Bunnymen. Full lineup and ticket info right here.