The Wedding Present this morning announced the release of its eighth studio album, the 10-track Valentina, which was recorded in France, California and England throughout 2011 and will be released worldwide in March in conjunction with the band’s previously announced South By Southwest appearance and North American tour.

The much-anticipated techno album by VCMG — former Depeche Mode bandmates Vince Clarke and Martin L. Gore, working together again for the first time in 30 years — will be named ‘Ssss’ and will be released by Mute on March 13, the duo announced today.

Nick Cave may be shelving his garage-blues side project Grinderman, but not before releasing a 12-track remix album called ‘Grinderman 2 RMX,’ collecting new and previously released mixes of cuts from the band’s sophomore album by members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, UNKLE and Queens of the Stone Age.

The Wedding Present this month will release ‘Live 1990,’ the fourth in its series of archival live albums, collecting remastered versions of the seventh and eighth of the band’s live cassettes that were only sold at shows and through the group’s fanzine. The set includes the band’s first North American concert.

Last fall, Simple Minds announced plans to release a new box set containing the band’s first five albums and an untold number of bonus cuts — and now, with the collection and accompanying European tour due next month, we’re finally getting a look at the set’s tracklist, via our friends at The Second Disc.

The reunited New Order — featuring keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, but not bassist Peter Hook — is releasing a live recording of its full 90-minute performance two weeks ago at London’s Troxy. The concert is being released as ‘Live at The London Troxy — 10th December 2011’ in both a 2CD set and a 320kbps MP3 download.

Sinead O’Connor today announced she will release ‘How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?’ — her ninth studio album and first in five years — in February, and has offered fans a taste by streaming two of the record’s tracks in advance of the release.

Classic U.K. post-punk outfit Wire will commemorate its year-long tour in support of the band’s current record, ‘Red Barked Tree,’ by giving its recent tour-only live album — the 13-track ‘The Black Session – Paris 10 May 2011’ — a full worldwide release in February.

A long-planned rarities compilation from London post-punk outfit The Lucy Show — ‘Remembrances’ — finally will be released next month, collecting 17 tracks that never have been released on CD, including the band’s 1983 debut single, alternates takes and five demos of tracks that appeared on 1985’s ‘…undone.’

The limited-edition Joy Division box set comprised of 10 newly remastered 7-inch singles that was released late last year is being reissued next month — this time on compact disc, collecting ‘CD replicas of 10 singles presented in a beautiful clamshell box.’

As Peter Hook first revealed to Slicing Up Eyeballs in August, the since-reunited New Order will release the songs left over from 2005 swan song ‘Waiting for the Sirens’ Call’ — in an eight-track CD/LP package called ‘Lost Sirens’ that is due to be released in December by Rhino Records.

The reunited Big Country today revealed the tracklist for its upcoming 2CD ‘deluxe edition’ reissue of its 1983 debut album ‘The Crossing,’ which will be released by Universal Music on Jan. 30 in the U.K. and be supplemented with seven B-sides and a second disc featuring 17 demos — 10 of which are previously unreleased.

Killing Joke’s reunited original lineup has plans for a busy 2012, with recording underway for a new studio album due early in the year, an elaborate live CD/DVD package set for release in January and a tour of the U.K. and Europe set to open in March.