Two New Third Eye Blind Albums Coming

With all these '90s bands reuniting or releasing albums after long periods off, I'm seriously starting to wonder if I somehow went back in time and landed in the middle of 1996.

Third Eye Blind will release a new album called Ursa Major on June 23 and are planning to release a companion record titled Ursa Minor sometime later this year.

The band debuted Ursa Major at the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas in March. They released a three-song EP called Red Star last November, making Ursa Major and Ursa Minor their first full-length albums since 2003's Out Of The Vein.

Third Eye Blind have been working on Ursa Major since shortly after Out Of The Vein's release, but singer/guitarist Stephan Jenkins went through a ridiculously bad bout of writer's block which left him unable to finish the lyrics.

"Both of these records to me are very strong, especially the first one, because we really bled for them," guitarist Tony Fredianelli told Billboard.com. "It's almost like we started over as a new band and went through the amount of time it takes to get a record that has a lot of meaning to it.

"I can sit down and write a song that might be pretty good, but to really get those songs that are magical, you don't really control that. They're kind of coming from another place."

It's not known what songs will be on either album yet, but Billboard.com reports the band are previewing new tracks "Can You Take Me," "Summer Town" and "Don't Believe A Word" on their current tour. They're all rumoured to appear on Ursa Major, along with eight other tracks.

You can hear four new Third Eye Blind songs on their MySpace page.

Third Eye Blind formed in 1993 in San Francisco and released their self-titled debut album four years later. It spawned the hits "Semi-Charmed Life," "Jumper" and "How's It Going To Be" and has sold more than six million copies. Blue, which came out in 1999, included the hit "10 Days Late" and sold about 1.25 million copies in the U.S.

Third Eye Blind are composed of Jenkins, Fredianelli and drummer Brad Hargreaves.

You can see Third Eye Blind here:

May 8 Erie, PA @ University Gym
May 9 Albany, NY @ Washington Park
May 10 Providence, RI @ Kennedy Plaza Skating Center
May 12 Stamford, CT @ Palace Theatre
May 14 Hampton, NH @ Hampton Beach Casino
May 15 Atlantic City, NJ @ House Of Blues
May 16 Washington, DC @ RKF Stadium
May 17 Norfolk, VA @ The NorVA
May 19 Verona, NY @ Turning Stone Casino
May 20 Greensburg, PA @ Palace Theatre
May 21 Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore
May 22 Columbus, OH @ LC Outdoor Amphitheater
May 23 Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
May 24 St. Louis, MO @ Soldiers Memorial Park
May 27 Covington, KY @ Madison Theater
May 28 Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room at Murat Center
May 29 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater
May 30 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
May 31 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater