Bauhaus Staircase

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) return with their 14th studio album Bauhaus Staircase, over six years after the triumph of their Top 4-charting record The Punishment of Luxury. The album was born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when as Andy McCluskey admits: “I rediscovered the creative power of total boredom.”

The album’s first offering as a single is the title track which serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era & the power of protest art. “I am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movements” Andy comments. “The song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.”

Ranging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of ‘Veruschka’ and the dance stylings of ‘Anthropocene’ - a term for the current epoch in Earth’s evolution to the sinister ‘Evolution Of Species’ and the hectic ‘Kleptocracy’ - OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song - the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on ‘Healing’ - a moment of reflective calm.

By rights OMD 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. Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s. 

“I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record" McCluskey summarises. “I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement.”

Tracklist

CD / LP
1. Bauhaus Staircase
2. Anthropocene
3. Look At You Now
4. G.E.M.
5. Where We Started
6. Veruschka
7. Slow Train
8. Don't Go
9. Kleptocracy
10. Aphrodite's Favourite Child
11. Evolution Of Species
12. Healing

2CD
1. Bauhaus Staircase 2.7 Demo. Andy 30th Aug 2020
2. Anthropocene Demo (A Haven for Lost Souls 1.1 Paul’s track April 2020)
3. Look At You Now Demo (Zimmer Frame For Andy) Paul 28th Feb 2021
4. G.E.M. Demo (Culture War. Andy 6th March 2021)
5. Where We Started Demo (Stadium 6.0) Andy 26th May 2020
6. Veruschka 2 Demo 2nd December 2020
7. Slow Train Demo 1.3 Dec 2020
8. Don’t Go Demo 14th Nov 2018
9. Kleptocracy Demo (When I Was Young) Andy 14th March 2021
10. Aphrodite’s Favourite Child Demo (B Side Choir) Fotonovela 2011
11. Evolution Of Species 2.5 ruff
12. Healing Demo (Water April 9th 2020) 
13. Bauhaus Staircase Demo. Andy 20th July 2020