OMD Return

The US version of History of Modern contains the US only exclusive track, "Save Me," which features Aretha Franklin and is the album's first single.

One of the reasons OMD have called their brand new album � their eleventh � History of Modern is because they are acutely aware of what it is they're doing with this release. On paper, this is the UK synth-pop pioneers' first new material since 1996, but in spirit, History of Modern has more in common with the group's early '80s heyday, when Enola Gay and Souvenir, penned by two teenage Krautrock fans from the Wirral, lit up the charts and set the agenda for a bold new movement in British electronic music.

In tandem with the Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys, OMD's tuneful blend of cutting-edge synthwork, cool minimalism and soulful pop � honed to perfection on the albums Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships and Organisation� defined the decade, sold millions of records, and turned childhood pals Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys into stars.

"We were trying to be modern," says Andy, pointing out that, in 1980, OMD were one of the first acts to use a sampler. "After architecture, art and design, popular music was the last of the great modernist movements, and we were genuinely trying to do something new. Quite how we thought we were going to change the world with three-and-a-half-minute pop songs, I don't know, but we thought we could."

Fast forward 30 years to the reunited OMD of 2010 and it's clear that that sense of mischief and youthful idealism still fuels the group. "I suppose the nice thing is that, just like in the early days, we made this record simply because we fancied making a record," says Andy. "There was no pressure to make a record in order to sell records and sustain a career. It was like making a first album again."