After announcing just before Christmas that their new album had just been mastered, My Bloody Valentine took the stage tonight in London for the first live date of the year, with Kevin Shields surprising fans by answering a heckler with news news that it could be released in “maybe two or three days.”

Organizers of Barcelona’s Primavera Sound 2013 festival unfurled a mind-bending lineup topped by headliners The Jesus and Mary Chain, Blur, My Bloody Valentine and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, in addition to appearances by Dinosaur Jr, Bob Mould, Dead Can Dance, The Breeders and many more.

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.

My Bloody Valentine delivered a Christmas surprise to fans, announcing on Facebook this evening that the band finished mastering its 21-years-in-the-making follow-up to the 1991 classic ‘Loveless’ three days ago. Whether the record still will be released online before year’s end, as Kevin Shields pledged, remains to be seen.

As part of their Kickstarter campaign to raise $75,000, the makers of the documentary “Beautiful Noise” have released footage of their interview with The Cure’s Robert Smith in which he discusses his love of the Cocteau Twins and how that band’s 1984 album Treasure helped prepare him for his wedding.

Still no further word on Kevin Shields’ recent claim he’ll release the 21-years-in-the-making follow-up to My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 classic ‘Loveless’ by the end of the year, but there are continued signs of life from the slumbering shoegaze giant, with MBV today announcing three U.K. shows set for next March.

It was shocking enough when the long-delayed reissues of My Bloody Valentine’s two studio albums finally were released earlier this year, but now frontman Kevin Shields claims he’ll release the 21-year-in-the-making follow-up to ‘Loveless’ by the end of the year — and will follow that up with an EP of even newer music.

The series launched this summer, and, so far, titles are available on Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins and David Bowie. Next month sees publication of a title on Kate Bush, with books due in spring and summer 2013 on Abba, My Bloody Valentine, Kraftwerk, PIxies, R.E.M. and Roxy Music.

This week’s round-up of headlines includes items about The House of Love, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Elizabeth Fraser, Robert Smith, World Party, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Billy Bragg, The Stone Roses, Bob Mould, PiL, Paul Weller and more — plus our latest Auto Reverse mixtape.

The reactivated My Bloody Valentine will follow up its trio of dates in Japan by headlining All Tomorrow’s Parties’ just-announced I’ll Be Your Mirror Melbourne festival next February, marking Kevin Shields and Co.’s first Australian concert in more than 20 years.

In our latest link round-up, we feature a look inside Dave Gahan’s home studio, an argument that My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ is the greatest album of the ’90s, a look back at The Psychedelic Furs, an interview with The Cult’s Ian Asbury and a look at the parallels between the rise of synthpop and digital design.

This week’s round-up of Slicing Up Eyeballs headlines includes news about Robyn Hitchcock, The Housemartins, The Cult, Paul Weller, Public Image Ltd., My Bloody Valentine, The Psychedelic Furs, Dead Can Dance, Depeche Mode, The Primitives, Ultravox and more.

With the My Bloody Valentine’s long-delayed reissues now out and Kevin Shields talking openly about a new album, it appears 2013 will see actual MBV activity: The band is scheduled to perform three concerts in Japan next February, which would mark the dormant group’s first performances since 2009.