Description
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark OMD return with their 14th studio album Bauhaus Staircase, over six years after the triumph of their Top 4charting record The Punishment of Luxury. The album was born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when as Andy McCluskey admits ldquoI rediscovered the creative power of total boredom.rdquonbspThe albumrsquos first offering as a single is the title tracknbspwhich serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskeyrsquos love of the Bauhaus era amp the power of protest art. ldquoI am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movementsrdquo Andy comments. ldquoThe song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.rdquoRanging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of lsquoVeruschkarsquo and the dance stylings of lsquoAnthropocenersquo a term for the current epoch in Earthrsquos evolution to the sinister lsquoEvolution Of Speciesrsquo and the hectic lsquoKleptocracyrsquo OMDrsquos greatest straightup protest song the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on lsquoHealingrsquo a moment of reflective calm.By rights OMD should be in semiretirement performing classics like Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers. Instead theyrsquove created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. 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 Ericrsquos.nbspldquoIrsquom very happy with what wersquove done on this record McCluskey summarises. ldquoIrsquom comfortable if this is OMDrsquos last statement.rdquo
