Twenty-four years ago, a little teen drama by the name of Pretty in Pink lit up theaters in the States, and America begun to give a damn about some English synthpop band with a super weird name. Four years ago, ’80s nostalgia was at its peak, as such things go, and the frontman of that band, Andy McCluskey announced the the reunion of its original lineup.
That reunion includes new material, and that new material will be here in a month. Yesterday, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark announced the release date for its first new album since 1996. The LP will be called History of Modern, and it comes out September 28th on Bright Antenna Records. The album is OMD’s 11th, and was mixed by Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals). Signaling a return to early ’80s form, Peter Saville designed the record’s artwork (see to the right).
You can hear some of the album at various Internet outposts right now. Spin.com, which interviewed McCluskey, has a stream of opening track “New Babies: New Toys”, while another cut called “If You Want It” — the U.K. single — has a music video out. Scroll down to access both.
The U.S. single is pretty exciting in its own right. Appearing only on the U.S. version of History of Modern, “Save Me” closes out the album and features none other than Aretha Franklin. Not the most predictable collaboration, is it?
Oh, and by the way, the Spin.com interview just happens to point out OMD, which hasn’t played in North America since 1991, is “in talks to play next April’s Coachella festival.”
OMG? Commence Aretha Franklin rumors immediately!
Calm down for a second, there’s more. History of Modern is currently available for pre-order at OMD’s webstore in a few different forms. Fans can buy a limited edition box set with a bunch of cool stuff, an autographed CD or vinyl, or a bundle with the CD/vinyl and a t-shirt. All pre-orders include an mp3 download of the Franklin track.
History of Modern Tracklist:
01. New Babies: New Toys
02. If You Want it
03. History of Modern (Part I)
04. History of Modern (Part II)
05. Sometimes
06. RFWK
07. New Holy Ground
08. The Future, The Past, and Forever After
09. Sister Marie Says
10. Pulse
11. Green
12. Bondage of Fate
13. The Right Side
14. Save Me (featuring Aretha Franklin)
