Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - History Of Modern (Part 1)

OMD, as a band, are masters of indentifying the best parts of their extensive back-catalogue and skilfully re-investing them them back into their newest project – re-enhanced sounds for a new audience but with all the familiarity the long-term fans will adore too. If You Want It was the triumphant return, packed with all the epic grandeur the band could master, twinned with a knack for lyrics that at their best are pure poetry in motion.

In the case of History Of Modern (Part 1), there’s a definite vibe of perhaps their most well known hit Enola Gay. It’s got that optimistic, cheery skip to it – an almost call-and-response synth line. There’s a constant, thumping beat to it too; relentless, energetic – a reminder that even now, more than 30 years since OMD graced the airwaves, that they are still just as talented as songwriters, just as enthused about making great synth-pop for the masses.

Sister Marie Says was a slightly predictable single choice, with its impact also rather dampened by the fact a demo version of it had already been given as a free download in the run-up to the album release. So it’s something of a joy to see the band go for this, a more adventurous single choice from an album where so many of the tracks could be singles. Hey, it even has a cool title in the form of that rather marvellous (Part 1). Now how many song names have that in them?

You also get the gorgeous cover artwork too – I’ve always been a fan of all the singles from an album era having similar covers that tie together; so when those covers are made by design legend Peter Saville, that idea of cohesion is emphasised even more. There’s something inherently collectable about them all – just imagine them looking all neat and glossy next to each-other!

The CD release of the single is conveniently packed with all the b-sides from across the entire album era and a number of new remixes of History Of Modern itself, including one by Selebrities which you can hear below.

History Of Modern (Part 1) is released February 28^th.

OMD - History of Modern (part I) - Selebrities Remix by 100% Records