Over the past four decades — give or take a decade break — the illustrious and critically acclaimed Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) have sold over 40 million records worldwide, establishing them as electronic synthesiser pioneers and one of Britain’s best-loved pop groups. Their 13 long players include benchmark-raising classics Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (1980), Organisation (1980), Architecture & Morality (1981), and Dazzle Ships (1983). OMD conquered the United States, and yielded the 1986 hit, "If You Leave" from the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack.
OMD returned last year with their first new studio album since 2017's highly praised The Punishment Of Luxury, a record entitled Bauhaus Staircase (released via White Noise through The Orchard). The record is regarded as OMD's most explicitly political record and the crowning achievement of their desire to be both Stockhausen and Abba - born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when, as Andy McCluskey admits: "I rediscovered the creative power of total boredom."
In further celebration of the LP, OMD has shared a brand new music video for their track "Kleptocracy," taken from last year's impeccable UK Top 2-charting studio album. Mixed by the album’s main external influence, rock producer David Watts (The Reytons’ recent #1 album), the clattering, hectic "Kleptocracy" is OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song — its chewy discourse wrapped in an absolute earworm.
As Andy McCluskey says: "This is the most political song that we have ever recorded. The band believes that democracy is the only legitimate way to balance different opinions and create a functioning representative government. Sadly, we are living through times that see us ruled by thieves and flagrant liars. Democracy has been subverted by 'Kleptocracy.'"
"Kleptocracy" will also be released on limited edition 7", 12", and CD singles (due March 22) — available for purchase here. |
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 | | OMD - Kleptocracy [OFFICIAL VIDEO] |
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After last year's standout performance at Huntington Beach's Darker Waves Festival (alongside New Order, Tears for Fears, Soft Cell, The B-52s, DEVO, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, and more) in addition to an after show at the House of Blues Anaheim, OMD have also recently announced their return to the States in celebration of their new LP.
OMD will take to the stage at The Greek in Los Angeles on September 20 — tickets are on sale NOW. More Fall 2024 North American tour dates are too be announced in February.
In addition to their forthcoming North American tour, OMD are also playing 40 dates across the Europe, UK & Ireland this year, including their biggest ever London headline show at London’s O2 Arena on March 24th. Tickets and more information for all of OMD's forthcoming live dates can be found HERE. |
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Bauhaus Staircase - TRACKLISTING:
01. Bauhaus Staircase
02. Anthropocene
03. Look At You Now
04. G.E.M.
05. Where We Started
06. Veruschka
07. Slow Train
08. Don't Go
09. Kleptocracy
10. Aphrodite's Favorite Child
11. Evolution of Species
12. Healing |
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Bauhaus Staircase - LP BIO:
By rights, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark should be in semi-retirement, performing classics like "Enola Gay" and "Maid Of Orleans" on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers.
Instead, they’ve created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. Having made one of their most universally acclaimed albums last time out, when 2017’s The Punishment Of Luxury returned Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys to the Top Five for the first time since 1991’s Sugar Tax, the duo have somehow managed to better it. Welcome to Bauhaus Staircase, both OMD’s most explicitly political record and the crowning achievement of their desire to be both Stockhausen and Abba.
The universal love shown for The Punishment Of Luxury meant there were doubts about making a new album at all. "The fans and the critics said: 'You can put The Punishment Of Luxury up against their best work' and rated it next to Architecture And Morality or Dazzle Ships," notes Paul Humphreys. "The reception was so good, we thought: 'Maybe we should stop now, at the top,' so the idea of making a new record had some trepidation for us."
McCluskey agrees, explaining: "We’ve worked hard to rebuild ourselves since reforming, and we’re in a wonderful position where we’re cooler than we’ve been for a long time. We wouldn’t forgive ourselves if we released an album where fans said: 'Oh no, this is the one where they’re a pastiche of themselves.' If Bauhaus Staircase is to be our last album, we’re going out with a strong statement."
The new album’s beautiful film noir ballad "Veruschka" exemplifies the determination OMD had to make Bauhaus Staircase an album to rank among their finest. McCluskey reasons: "My attitude is like I say in that song: if you’re too afraid to jump off the cliff, you’ll never learn to fly. We couldn’t keep saying: 'It’s not going to work.' You have to keep trying, to see where you end up."
The impetus to kickstart new explorations came during lockdown when, as McCluskey admits: "I rediscovered the power of total boredom." He acknowledges he was privileged to have that comfort, but being stuck at home took the singer back to his earliest days as a songwriter: "It was like being a teenager, mum watching Kojak and me thinking: 'Fuck this, I’m going to my room to write a song.' For the first time since then, there was nothing else to do. It’s good inspiration."
McCluskey had long wanted to write songs called "Anthropocene," "Kleptocracy," and "Bauhaus Staircase." Here was his chance. Humphreys, meanwhile, used lockdown to revisit his stockpile of ideas. "Andy and I never dispose of a song idea," he laughs. The music for "Veruschka" dates back to the unmade second album for Onetwo, Humphreys’ short-lived duo with Propaganda singer Claudia Brucken. "I discovered 'Veruschka,' and Andy immediately said: 'Oh yeah, I’m having that!' He’s written such a beautiful lyric for it. 'Anthropocene' was Andy’s concept, but he couldn’t think of the right music for it. I gave Andy a cool track I’d found from years ago, and he said: ‘I’m going to abandon my backing track, this is much more interesting.'"
To save anyone Googling, "Anthropocene" is the term for the current era in Earth’s evolution, when mankind is directly affecting it. A spiritual heir of Dazzle Ships’ mordant electro bangers, "Anthropocene" is a six-minute masterclass in tension as a voiceover starkly intones how mankind is 'crushing all diversity' of other species, while essentially remaining a 'geological hiccup.' Spoiler alert: the final line is "One million years from now, global human population is zero."
It's a song where McCluskey’s boyhood dream to become a paleoanthropologist finally gets to roam around in OMD’s music, and is worth the wait. "I’m fascinated by the various human forms over the past millions of years," he says. "We as human beings are changing the planet in a physical way, creating our own geological epoch." A laugh. "The current Anthropocene epoch, that’s the sort of thing I write songs about. This stuff is all in my head and comes out in my lyrics. I’m not the average songwriter. Paul’s track was 'That’s it!,' then became bigger and bigger, a programming journey."
The ominous narratives on "Anthropocene" and its companion track, the sinister "Evolution Of Species," were achieved by Google’s Text-To-Speak function. "I got bored of vocoders," smiles McCluskey. "I was looking for alternative ways of putting lyrics into songs that didn’t require me to sing them. The different languages in 'Evolution Of Species' are via Google Translate – I hope it’s done them properly."
If those songs show OMD’s icily electronic side, then "Look At You Now," "Where We Started," and the stunning closer "Healing" rival any ballads in McCluskey and Humphreys’ 45-year career. "That’s a constant thread in OMD," acknowledges Humphreys. "We like our pop side: we’ve been blessed with a knack for writing commercial melodies. But there’s always the deeper side too."
"Where We Started" manages to convey a world of empathy and solace in just 34 words. "I had nothing more to say than those lyrics," nods McCluskey. "It’s a song for someone I care deeply about, saying: 'I’m sorry you’re hurting. I love you and, if you ever need a hug, let’s go back to page one.' We were all isolated from each other during Covid, concerned for our health and future, but it was also a time of great compassion. Several songs on this album, although it was completely unconsciously, are about love and support in difficult times."
Conversely, the clattering, hectic "Kleptocracy" is OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song. It was written at the start of lockdown but, as McCluskey points out: "References to Trump, Johnson, and Putin are sadly still relevant. They just won’t fuck off." The line "It doesn’t matter who you vote for, they’ve bought the man you elected" summarises the duo’s disgust at the current state of democracy. "Dazzle Ships was about the Cold War, but we haven’t been so overtly political before," says Humphreys. "The older we get, the more forthright we get. You have to be politically aware in the current climate, because there’s so much craziness going on that you’re forced into an opinion."
The chewy discourse of 'Kleptocracy' is wrapped in an absolute earworm. "It’s what we do," laughs McCluskey. "'Enola Gay' wasn’t the most palatable lyrical content, but that’s got a very catchy tune."
Protest is also present in Bauhaus Staircase’s title track. Named after German artist Oskar Schlemmer’s 1932 painting, recreated by Roy Lichtenstein in 1988 for his Pop Art series of classics, it’s a nod both to McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era, the power of protest art, and his sadness as a trustee of National Museums Liverpool that Governments tend to cut arts funding just when times are hard and we need our souls nourishing.
"We knew 'Bauhaus Staircase' had to open the album and 'Healing' had to end it," McCluskey reveals. "'Bauhaus Staircase' has this energy that grabs you as soon as the record starts. It starts aggressively, then it just builds and builds until it’s a maelstrom of synths and howling vocals."
The tender "Healing" is a moment of reflective calm after the myriad emotions preceding it. It’s a rare OMD co-write, with lyrics by McCluskey’s friend, Liverpool singer-songwriter Caroline England, and production from Uwe Schmidt, who records as both lounge star Senor Coconut and glitch artist Atom TM. McCluskey says: "Caroline had said, semi-jokingly, that if I ever have writers’ block, she’d write some words for us. I called her bluff. What Caroline wrote works so well that I feel so comfortable singing 'Healing.' We’re big fans of Atom TM, so I sent Uwe the demo of 'Healing,' asking him to make it sound more modern. He took the rather lumpy musical idea I’d had and created a fantastic ambient electro swirl. Healing is such a beautiful song, emotionally very powerful."
Humphreys and McCluskey envisage 'Healing' as a centrepiece in OMD’s new tour in April, which climaxes with a huge concert at London O2. "That’ll be a landmark, but it’s also terrifying to play such a big show," admits Humphreys. "We always conceptualise how we look for each album, and we never scrimp on the budget. We love putting on a good show." McCluskey adds: "Our touring sales have gone up exponentially in the last decade. We’ve been a bit of a secret band, but now that people have had chance to see us, they tend to come back."
The new album’s other main external influence is David Watts. Mainly known as a rock producer, who helmed Sheffield band The Reytons’ recent No 1 album What’s Rock And Roll?, Watts mixed "Kleptocracy" and the raucous glam-tinged explosion, "Slow Train." "David chose the right songs to work on," notes Humphreys. "I’m a clean, electro mixer, whereas David brought some rock elements which enhances those songs appropriately."
Humphreys ceded mixing the whole album as he became a second-time father two years ago, explaining: "I’ve got the sweetest kid, who’s taken up quite a bit of my time. I don’t want to work quite as hard as I have in the past, as I don’t want my daughter saying to my wife: 'Who’s that guy over there?' 'That’s actually your dad.'"
If real life meant OMD were happy to get help, Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s. They wouldn’t have released the album if it wasn’t up to The Punishment Of Luxury’s exacting standards. "We might be seen as 'heritage,' but we’re not going to make a new album just so we can have a new logo on our T-shirts," insists McCluskey. Or, as McCluskey summarises: "I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record. I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement." |
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PRAISE FOR BAUHAUS STAIRCASE
"A stellar return blessed with power, determination and conviction." 9/10*
- CLASH
"If Bauhaus Staircase is OMD’s final album, it’s a hell of a last studio statement" 4.5/5*
- Classic Pop Magazine
"Bauhaus Staircase shows OMD thriving as much as surviving" 4/5*
- MOJO
"'Bauhaus Staircase' is a swoony, propulsive piece of classic-style synthpop"
- Stereogum
"'Veruschka' exemplifies the duo's determination to continue taking risks"
- Retropop Magazine
"What Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark is doing in their fifth decade of existence is nothing short of astounding. They are on a creative run the likes of which even the best bands rarely have once, never mind a second time when the core band members are in their 60s, and the band’s new album Bauhaus Staircase may be the best of the bunch."
- PopDose
"'Bauhaus Staircase' is a tempest of gritty analogue synths that scrape and resonate. Elevated by celestial electronic melodies and underscored by the relentless thump of 808 drums, the track is a kinetic whirlwind that intensifies, without reprieve, for a gripping four-minute odyssey."
- Post-Punk
"Bauhaus Staircase is continued evidence that some recorded comebacks happen to be exactly the right thing for a group to do [...] It may occasionally sound warmly, comfortingly like the past, but this is an album with its mind fixed firmly on the future."
- Record Collector |
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