Synthpop favorites Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are letting fans get a taste of two tracks — including first single “If You Want It” — from the forthcoming History of Modern, the reunited band’s first new album in 14 years.
The band previously had posted a minute-long excerpt of “History of Modern Part II” to its site, and yesterday added a minute-long sample of “If You Want It,” slated to be the album’s first single. Both tracks are fairly upbeat, updated takes on OMD’s classic synthpop sound; hear both below.
History of Modern, due out Sept. 20 in the U.K., is OMD’s first album since 1996’s Universal and its first with its classic lineup — co-founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, plus Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes — since 1986 (see full tracklist here).
Hear samples of two new OMD tracks after the jump…
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS
- OMD’s ‘History of Modern’ tracklist, box set unveiled; release set for Sept. 20
- OMD to release ‘History of Modern’ this year, tour U.K. and Europe in the fall
- Simple Minds, OMD to cover Kraftwerk’s ‘Neon Lights’ on upcoming tour of the UK
- Video: Simple Minds and OMD perform Kraftwerk’s ‘Neon Lights’ together
McCluskey trying for the Robert Smith thing in “If You Want It.”
I like it, but I wouldn’t say the sound is “updated.” It’s very retro with what sounds like a lot of analogue synths circa the early to mid 80s. That’s a good thing in my book, though.