Will Young - Losing Myself

If you'd have asked someone a few years ago if they'd ever have thought Will Young would re-invent himself as an angelic synth-pop artist, you'd probably have been greeted with silence.

But that's exactly what Will managed to achieve this year, and it's resulted not only in some of the best material of his career, but some of the best pop music around at the moment.

Where previous singles Jealousy and Come On felt futuristic and reflective, new track Losing Myself has its feet set firmly in the 80s. The production is pure bliss and Will's soulful vocals suit it perfectly. This could easily be something off a late 80s George Michael album, but imbued with all the maturity and electronic glory of something New Order or Depeche Mode would have been proud to call their own.

Some people dismiss electronic music as cold and dispassionate, but Losing Myself is wrapped up in such warmth, such delicacy and nuance of emotion that it packs the intensity of any hard-wrought campfire ballad. As 2011 turns into 2012, Will Young has proven yet again he stands as an artist of continuing relevancy and one of the prime examples that reality TV prodigies can be forces for good in music.

Losing Myself is released on the 19th March.

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

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Sister Marie Says

I’ve been listening to OMD’s brilliant new album History of Modern a fair bit recently, so I was rather excited to hear there’ll be a second single taken from it, coming out next month! Sister Marie Says is classic OMD, a massive synth hook propelling a track that could have come straight out of the band’s 80s heyday. And for that, the song works a treat. The band have always excelled at blending catchy melodies with quirky, witty lyrics, and this track doesn’t disappoint.

For me, it doesn’t quite reach the joyous anthemic qualities that the album’s lead single If You Want It boasted, but it’s a more than solid contribution to OMD’s stellar discography. Oooh, and the prospect of new b-sides and remixes is always rather exciting too.

Out 15^th November