Alison Moyet today announced an extensive, 24-date tour of the U.K. and Ireland this fall in support of her upcoming album ‘the minutes’ — that’s the just-revealed cover art posted above — and said the concerts will place the new album “center stage” and focus on “significant electronic material in her back catalog.”

Former Yazoo frontwoman Alison Moyet today announced that her upcoming eighth solo album will be called the minutes, and then proceeded to debut the first track off the largely electronic collection — a song called “Changeling,” which can be downloaded for free via the widget below in exchange for an e-mail address.

U.K. imprint Cooking Vinyl today announced it has signed Alison Moyet to a worldwide deal with plans to release the former Yazoo singer’s eighth studio album this May, an electronic-based collection that signer describes both as “prog-pop” and “born of reconstructed improvisation.”

Today we count down the best reissue of 2012 as voted on by Slicing Up Eyeballs in this year’s readers poll, and the Top 10 list includes releases by Icehouse, Ministry, The House of Love, Ian McCulloch of Echo & The Bunnymen, Yazoo, Bob Mould’s Sugar, My Bloody Valentine, Peter Gabriel and more.

The all-too-brief early ’80s career of synthpop duo Yazoo — comprised of singer Alison Moyet and former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke — will be anthologized next month on a new 2CD set called ‘The Collection,’ which assembles singles, cuts from the band’s two albums and both vintage and recent remixes.

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.’

Former Yazoo singer Alison Moyet will perform three intimate concerts in London this fall billed as ‘Alison Moyet: Rare & Obscured’ at which she promises to perform ‘a set of songs less-visited, focusing largely on her catalogue from the last decade — hits not expected to attend and curved balls may apply.’

Much has been made about the loss of album art in the download age, but pop-culture maven Matthew Chojnacki argues that even more endangered are the 7- and 12-inch single sleeves of the 1980s — ephemeral splashes of music history that he’s compiled in the new book ‘Put the Needle on the Record: The 1980s at 45 Revolutions Per Minute.’

Short Circuit Presents Mute wrapped up last night in London with a Vince Clarke extravaganza, which included a set with Erasure, an appearance by Alison Moyet for what might have been Yazoo’s final performance and a surprise reunion with Feargal Sharkey to play the lone single the duo recorded as The Assembly.

A parade of classic synthpop and electronic artists including Erasure, Yazoo, Nitzer Ebb and four current and former members of Depeche Mode will take the stage in London this weekend to celebrate the hugely influential Mute Records label at the annual Short Circuit Electronic Music Festival.

Three weeks ago, we launched the inaugural Slicing Up Eyeballs Readers Poll in an effort to gauge what this site’s frequenters think are the year’s best new albums and reissues. Now, with hundreds of ballots cast, the results are in.

Notable spins on tonight’s installment of ‘Dark Wave’ include not one but two cuts off The Teardrop Explodes just-reissued 1980 debut ‘Kilimanjaro,’ a track from Bauhaus’ 2008 reunion album ‘Go Away White’ and a lesser-played Yazoo album cut.

The biggest surprise of The Buggles’ reunion concert Tuesday night came when Trevor Horn and Co. gamely attempted to cover the newly released single ‘Check It Out!’ by Nicki Minaj and will.i.am, which heavily samples the Buggles’ signature hit ‘Video Killed the Radio Star.’