After taking much of the past two years off, Depeche Mode are scheduled to reconvene in January and are planning to enter a studio to begin work on a follow-up to 2009’s ‘Sounds of the Universe’ in March, bandmember Andy Fletcher reveals in a recent Italian interview to promote one of his DJ gigs in that country.

Today sees the debut of the musical reunion of former Depeche Mode bandmates Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore in the form of ‘Spock,’ the first single off the newly christened VCMG’s as-yet-to-be-titled album, due out next year. Check out streams of the original mix and two remixes.

This week’s new releases include the debut EP from VCMG, the new techno project from Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore, plus the ‘Hotel Sessions’ from The Lemoneheads, and the debut EP from David Newton of The Mighty Lemon Drops and his new band, Thee Mighty Angels.

This week’s round-up of Slicing Up Eyeballs headlines includes posts about Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore and Vince Clarke, The Lucy Show, Simple Minds, Paul Weller, Throwing Muses, Elvis Costello and OMD, plus the opening of voting in the 2011 installment of the Slicing Up Eyeballs Readers Poll.

The musical reunion of former Depeche Mode bandmates Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore that was first revealed last summer will see the light of day later this month when the duo releases the first in a series of techno EPs under the moniker VCMG — to be followed by a full-length album in early 2012, Mute Records announced today.

Erasure today announced the completion of ‘Tomorrow’s World,’ the group’s first new record in four years, which will arrive this fall on Mute Records and be accompanied by a 25-date North American tour.

Martin Gore and Vince Clarke are finished recording a new all-instrumental dance record and must now mix the project — but Gore warns in a new interview with Billboard.com that ‘even though it probably will be finished quite soon, it might not see the light of day for awhile.’