Erasure [ tickets ]--a.k.a. Vince Clarke and Andy Bell--plans to start 2005 by releasing its first collection of all-new material since 2000, and will back the album with a U.S. tour.

Titled "Nightbird," the new album is scheduled for a Jan. 25 release. Fans will have nearly three months to digest the set before the duo launches its tour in mid-April.

The trek begins with a five-night run in New York City, and multi-night stands are also planned in San Francisco, Houston and Washington, DC. Dates so far stretch into late May. Details are shown below.

"Nightbird" features the cut "Breathe," which is slated for release as a single on Jan. 18.

Erasure's most-recent album of new material is 2000's "Loveboat." The group followed that up early last year with "Other People's Songs," a collection of cover tunes.

Erasure has enjoyed moderate success in the U.S., but the group's popularity in the U.K. eclipses American interest, as evidenced by its five No. 1 albums on the U.K. album chart.

The group, which is perhaps best known in the states for the late-'80s hits "Chains of Love" and "A Little Respect," has sold over 25 million albums worldwide, according to its publicist.

Bell revealed earlier this month that he found out he was HIV-positive in 1998, when he had a bout with pneumonia. In a statement posted on the band's website, he said that he's been feeling fine since then.

"Being HIV[-positive] does not mean that you have AIDS," he wrote. "My life expectancy should be the same as anyone else's, so there is no need to panic, there is still so much hysteria and ignorance surrounding HIV and AIDS. Let's just get on with life i.e. making music, doing a live tour and generally having a good time."