Bob Mould’s first new album in three years — the 10-track ‘Silver Age’ — arrives next week, and the former Hüsker Dü frontman today debuted the record via a full-album stream at RollingStone.com. He tells the rock mag it’s no coincidence the album sounds a bit like Sugar’s just-reissued 1992 debut ‘Copper Blue.’

Bob Mould is set to release his first new album in three years in less than a month, and Merge Records this morning offered up the first taste of Silver Age in the form of lead single “The Descent,” which, perhaps not surprisingly, is very reminiscent of Mould’s ’90s work with Sugar.

This week’s new releases include the U.S. reissue of Sugar’s catalog, a live CD/DVD from Propaganda’s Claudia Brücken, a live CD from Happy Mondays, an audiophile vinyl pressing of Yazoo’s ‘Upstairs at Eric’s,’ the U.S. release of Peter Gabriel’s ‘Secret World Live,’ and reissues of Icehouse’s ‘Primitive Man’ and ‘Man of Colours.’

With Merge Records set to release U.S. editions of Sugar’s catalog reissues next week, the label is teasing the discs with this video of Bob Mould and his band — drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy — tearing through ‘Copper Blue’ standout “Hoover Dam” at San Francisco’s NoisePop festival back in February.

John Lydon will bring his reconstituted Public Image Ltd. back to the U.S. for its first North American performance in two years this November when the band co-headlines the FunFunFun Fest in Austin, Texas — with more North American dates promised to be announced “as soon as we can.”

Bob Mould will release a new album called ‘Silver Age’ that Merge Records likens to the ‘punishingly loud, melodically sparkling pop/rock vein of the Sugar catlalog’ — a fitting comparison, since Mould will tour the album in the U.S. this fall by playing that band’s ‘Copper Blue’ front-to-back.

Our latest link round-up includes a Q&A with Morrissey in which he suggests he’ll retire in 2014 at age 55, plus interviews with Bob Mould reflecting on Sugar’s ‘Copper Blue,’ John Lydon discussing Public Image Ltd. and the Sex Pistols, and former Replacements drummer Chris Mars talking art and music.