OMD is Back

Click to watch the video for new track "If You Want It"

We’ve all swooned over OMD’s hit “If You Leave” (at least, if you’re normal you have); well now Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphrey are back for the first time in 15 years with new album History of Modern.

In these electro-friendly times, OMD’s influence has become ubiquitous. The XX, Brandon Flowers of The Killers, and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy have cited OMD as an inspiration, while the likes of La Roux, Cold Cave and The Horrors show traces of OMD’s DNA. Andy notes that today OMD is perceived to have its place in the “pantheon of relevant popular music history”, something which seemed unthinkable during the Britpop era.

Upbeat and bristling with ideas, History of Modern was mixed by Arctic Monkeys/Foals engineer Mike Crossey, and offers a slightly rawer kind of pleasure to the serene melancholy of OMD’s early-’80s moments. In a nice touch, the record’s sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, who was responsible for the iconic artwork of those first OMD albums. Saville was the in-house designer at Factory Records, the label that released OMD’s debut single “Electricity“ in 1979. For many, History of Modern will be their first experience of OMD, and one hopes their curiosity will lead them to other oldie but goodies.

“I suppose the nice thing is that, just like in the early days, we made this record simply because we fancied making a record,” says McCluskey. “There was no pressure to make a record in order to sell records and sustain a career. It was like making a first album again.”

US Tracklisting:

1. New Babies: New Toys
2. If You Want It
3. History of Modern (Part I)
4. History of Modern (Part II)
5. Sometimes
6. RFWK
7. New Holy Ground
8. The Future, The Past, And Forever After
9. Sister Marie Says
10. Pulse
11. Green
12. Bondage of Fate
13. The Right Side
14. Save Me (featuring Aretha Franklin)

Spin has released a great article and you can check out another new OMD song, “New Babies: New Toys,” by clicking here.