OMD

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, the band’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, it's a broad, electronic, sonic masterpiece tackling the topics of the future.

The universal love shown for The Punishment Of Luxury meant there were doubts about making a new album at all. 'The reception was so good,' says Humphreys, ‘the idea of making a new record had some trepidation for us.'

'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'", agrees McCluskey. 'If Bauhaus Staircase is to be our last album, we’re going out with a strong statement.'

OMD have sold an astonishing 25 million singles and 15 million albums, which has established them as electronic synthesiser pioneers and one of Britain’s best-loved pop groups

Presented by AEG