OMD: S&D

new album! who knew?

9/28 - OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) - History Of Modern (Bright Antenna)
That's right, the kings of new wave are back and better than ever with their first new album in 14 years.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/35/OMD_History_of_Modern_album_cover.jpg/600px-OMD_History_of_Modern_album_cover.jpg

okay, anyone with any interest in omd probably knew this for years. geir will dig it. that's for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rCMo1zfAKs

sorry if there is a thread. its early...

saw the quietus tweeting that it isn't very good.

that sounded pretty good except for the hi-hat

Buying this for the cover alone btw.

Psyched

Will likely go and see them again, with any luck they'll play Stanlow at brain welding volume like at the Roundhouse gig, it was aces.

That new song is rather lovely. I absolutely love the artwork, it would be so great if the music was as good.

This song's pretty good and I'm looking fwd to the album, as long as "new single" doesn't mean "this is the best song from the album."

tracklisting:

Track listing

All songs written and composed by OMD (except where stated):

Side one

No. Title Length
1. "New Babies: New Toys" 3.52
2. "If You Want It" (OMD/Carmen)" 4.45
3. "History of Modern (Part I)" 4.41
4. "History of Modern (Part II)" 4.13
5. "Sometimes" 3.46
6. "RFWK" 3.46
7. "New Holy Ground" 3.42

Side two

No. Title Length
8. "The Future, The Past, and Forever After" 4.52
9. "Sister Marie Says" 4.00
10. "Pulse" (OMD/Remee/Cutfather and Joe)" 3.42
11. "Green" (OMD/Stuart Kershaw)" 4.17
12. "Bondage of Fate" (OMD/Hannah Peel)" 4.06
13. "The Right Side?" (OMD/Leonard/Baker)" 8.20

found a PERFECT copy of maid of orleans 12 inch today. made me so happy. three dollars. still in the shrink wrap and looked like it had never been played. sounds so amazing. Peter Saville silver cardboard! (*Peter Saville Silver Cardboard Band* name not taken yet. feel free to use it.)

http://homepage2.nifty.com/truefaith/tosq/petersaville/largeimages/1982-01-din40.jpg

That is a beautiful 12"
OMD is a very eBay friendly band

I sold a couple of OMD promo posters last month (A&M and a Souvenir one) nearly died when one went for £160 and the other £103

buyers got them cheap imo

Same dude for both actually.

my maid of orleans 12" has completely different artwork, it's silver with a large embossed coin in the centre. i think i prefer the stained glass design

Hoping

13. "The Right Side?" (OMD/Leonard/Baker)" 8.20

is the return of I Start Counting.....

So the actual lead single is a huge disappointment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACbPPHMwUoE

Isn't it exactly the same song as this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2KfrmKCmAQ

eh, it isn't terrible, i could do without the intro bit.

but it does sound a lot like the second one. but then i'd never heard either before just now.

Yaaaaaawn. They can do much better imo.

on first listen the album seems surprisingly good! or am i just relieved that it is not as awful as i feared it might be? who knows.

What do you think of the song where Andy McClusky starts getting 'sexy' (Pulse)?

I thought The Right Side was the only good track on it but given that it's essentially the same as Europe Endless off Trans Europe Express, it fucking well should be.

Unfortunately, I found the album totally underwhelming and boring. Which was obviously to be expected, but you try to go into these things with some optimism, y'know.

Definitely search: the debut, Organisation, Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships, Junk Culture, Sugar Tax.

The first four albums are excellent, with Junk Culture and Sugar Tax in particular being very underrated.

As for the rest, even though the albums are quite patchy, there's still some great songs in there. Here's my individual song searches for the rest.

CRUSH (1985)
Search: So In Love, Secret, 88 Seconds In Greensboro, The Native Daughters Of The Golden West
Destroy: the rest
(The 12" version of La Femme Accident is searchable though, I think it's much better and punchier than the album/single cut)

THE PACIFIC AGE (1986)
Search: Stay (The Black Rose And The Universal Wheel), The Dead Girls, Southern, Flame Of Hope, Goddess Of Love
Destroy: the rest

LIBERATOR (1993)
Destroy this album completely, it is truly rancid. Andy McCluskey trying to keep up with the kids and ending up sounding like 2 Unlimited.

UNIVERSAL (1996)
Search: Universal, Walking On The Milky Way, The Moon & The Sun, The Black Sea, Very Close To Far Away, That Was Then
Destroy: the rest

HISTORY OF MODERN (2010)
Definitely search: New Babies New Toys, History Of Modern (Part I), History Of Modern (Part II), RFWK, New Holy Ground, Bondage Of Fate.

Destroy completely: Sometimes, The Future The Past And Forever After, Pulse, The Right Side?

However 'If You Want It', 'Sister Marie Says' and 'Green' may be of some interest to some fans.

Comprehensive! I enjoy much of History Of Modern as much as Junk Culture. Good record!

Somehow the existence of Sugar Tax has escaped me completely to this point! *searches*

Sugar Tax, for me, is easily the best of the "solo McCluskey" OMD albums. No, it's not an artistic statement in the same way that their output up until and including "Dazzle Ships" is, but I think it's just as good as "Junk Culture" in the 'it's just good pop' stakes, although it's a different record to "Junk Culture". With "Junk Culture", they tried to incorporate more of a Latin/Caribbean element into their sound and I thought it worked well for the most part. "Sugar Tax" is more of a straight synth-pop album, but it's a good one in my opinion - I think only the cover of 'Neon Lights' is the only thing I'm not too keen on on there (but there's absolutely no way anybody could improve on the original). It has this reputation of being a full-on 'dance pop' album, but really it's the ballads on "Sugar Tax" that make it for me, and to me are some of my favourite OMD songs: 'All That Glitters', 'Was It Something I Said' (which is about the break-up of the original OMD line-up), 'Then You Turn Away', 'Walking On Air'. I love the upbeat 'Speed Of Light' and the Pet Shop Boys-ness of 'Call My Name' too.

Has anyone seen them on the ongoing reunion tour?

I haven't yet, but the more live footage I watch, the more I'm seriously considering it - they pulled out and dusted off 'Bunker Soldiers' the last time they played live in the UK, if I remember.

I've seen it! Lots of awkward dancing! It is appealing! Paul sings "Souvenir"!

The show I saw was a BLAST. Andy oozes showmanship from his very core. All the hits and more, and nothing too embarrassing from the new-ish period. And yes Paul doing Souvenir is such a scene stealing delight. Although he does have this righteous creepiness about him, as if he's a teenage Salacious Crumb underdogging Andy's Jabba in Linda Hunt's body. All due respect and all.

am I still the only person who loves "(Forever) Live and Die"

ha I guess I could have just read the thread, rock on Geir

Ah, it's one of their worst ever singles in my humble opinion. I personally can't believe they're still playing it live! Apparently the main inspiration behind the song was 'You Sexy Thing' by Hot Chocolate (listen to the bassline). I mean, good on them for branching out and trying something different - but it's not really the type of OMD that I like, and I don't particularly think its a great song in itself.

I love it too Dan

I don't mind that song at all.

Remarkably good the other night. Andy McCluskey in great voice, great attitude, and self-consciously less than great moves. Paul solid, too. Andy was funny, made light of his dancing, and even managed a backhanded complement toward "If You Leave" before the band dispensed with it pretty early in the set. I was impressed. Other guys solid, too.

For sone reason could have sworn Andy was born-again, but apparently he's an atheist. Who knew?

"The Dead Girls" is as stately and creepy as I remember it being when I was a kid

There's a new record coming out early-ish next year, 'English Electric'

http://1.2.3.13/bmi/www.omd-messages.co.uk/omd/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ebglish_electric.jpg

^ That's the sleeve of the forthcoming album English Electric, apparently ^

Very Dazzle Ships-like, you could say. I guess you could also say it looks like the ghost of the Hacienda has thrown up on a piece of cardboard!

Paul Humphreys talks a little bit about the forthcoming album here, since the tour dates have been announced...

http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/blog/?page_id=11506

OMD TO RELEASE NEW RECORD;
ENGLISH ELECTRIC OUT APRIL 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZBNx6e3D_Q

http://bighassle.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/OMDPressShotforTour.jpeg

BMG is excited to announce that cornerstones of British electronic music, OMD, will return to jumpstart and rewire the canon with brand new album English Electric. Out April 9, the album was written, recorded, produced and mixed by OMD - Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys. English Electric is a 12-track letter to technology, space, love and a grand return to form for a band whose 1980 hit "Enola Gay" occupied the world's stage at last year's Olympics Opening Ceremony.

As percolating synth-pop is pulled along at different speeds and executed with needle-sharp finesse, late night electro ballads collide with big sounding club cuts on a record which also features three interlude tracks, including dystopian missive "Please Remain Seated" and "Decimal," which is accompanied by this suitably mechanical TRAILER directed by Henning M. Lederer. Bloggers feel free to post.

LP Highlights include the radioactive clatter of "Atomic Ranch" - a song which pokes fun at convention with computerised voices - "Kissing The Machine" - which was composed in collaboration with early influence Kraftwerk member Karl Bartos -"Helen of Troy" - which revives the recurring historical figure motif - and the glacial, uplifting "Metroland," the first single.

As Andy McCluskey says of the album; "The overarching feel tends to be a sense of loss, of melancholia, that things haven't turned out the way you wanted them to, whether it be with technology or personal relationships." The title itself - taken from a British industrial manufacturing company - has further resonance for the pair as locomotive enthusiasts and self-confessed technology geeks.

This is the follow-up to 2010's History of Modern and the band's 12th album to date.

The original four-piece - Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Malcolm Holmes and Martin Cooper - will be reunited once again this spring for a string of must-see shows, which commemorate the band's 35th anniversary. Tour dates will be announced soon.

Full tracklisting for English Electric:

1. Please Remain Seated
2. Metroland
3. Night Café
4. The Future Will Be Silent
5. Helen of Troy
6. Our System
7. Kissing The Machine
8. Decimal
9. Stay With Me
10. Dresden
11. Atomic Ranch
12. Final Song

The album is being released on standard CD format, as a deluxe edition - with media book and bonus DVD - vinyl format - ltd edition die cut sleeve on heavyweight vinyl, as a limited edition deluxe tin boxset, as well as digitally.

I'm actually getting myself far more excited for this one that I did for History Of Modern!

*than

I'm excited!

Hope they tour the US again, because they are fantastic live.

Yeah, they're great live. Andy's dance moves have matured from "gawky teenager" to "dancing dad" and I like it. It feels properly celebratory, like a wedding or something

'Decimal' seems to have divided the fans a bit. It surprises me how many OMD fans there are out there who don't seem to rate their more unconventional tracks, like 'VCL XI' or some of the B-sides or the interlude pieces on Dazzle Ships, and instead rate stuff like Liberator... I mean, I love a great pop song as much as anyone else, but I often get the feeling that some folks still can't grasp what made this band so great in their earlier years. It annoys me a bit, especially when it comes from OMD's own fans.