Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, a.k.a OMD, are set to return September 1st with their 13th full-length album, The Punishment of Luxury (via 100% Records). The follow-up to 2013’s English Electric has thus far been previewed with two singles, “Isotype” and “La Mitrailleuse”, and now a third listen has come via the album’s title track.
“The Punishment of Luxury” is an addicting jolt of bright ’80s synthpop, replete with Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys’ pristine harmonies. As sugary sweet as it all is, however, there’s something ominous in its allure, rumbling down there in the lower end of the mix. It’s a reflection of the song’s themes about the false sense of happiness our consumption culture has given us. “Lazy girl/ Dirty boy/ Surrounded by your broken toys/ And you don’t know how to make the pain just go away,” goes one verse.
“Most people in the western world are materially better off than their predecessors ever were and yet we are unhappier,” McCluskey explains to Consequence of Sound. “Now we have many possessions that we don’t need because we’ve been persuaded to buy. This is the punishment of luxury.”
The song comes to us via its neon-lined video. Instead of taking inspiration from the actual artwork for which the track was named — as OMD did with the “La Mitrailleuse” clip — the “Punishment of Luxury” video takes its visual cues from the repetitive, glowing nature of modern pleasures. There are twirling strippers, raining dollars, and an infinite number of Like buttons. There’s even a rotoscoped snippet of 45, because what would commentary on our current consumerist culture be without a reference to the President of the United States?
Check out the video above. You can also catch OMD when they kick off their 2017 tour later this month.
OMD 2017 Tour Dates:
07/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
07/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ Microsoft Theater
07/30 – Tijuana, MX @ El Foro
08/02 – Mexico City, MX @ Pepsi Centre
08/05 – Punta Cana, DO @ Hard Rock Cafe
10/23 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
10/24 – Belfast, IE @ Mandella Hall
10/29 – Liverpool, UK @ Empire
10/30 – Bristol, UK @ Colston Hall
11/01 – Southend, UK @ Cliffs Pavilion
11/02 – Ipswich, UK @ Regent
11/03 – Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
11/05 – Leicester, UK @ De Montfort Hall
11/06 – Nottingham, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
11/07 – Sheffield, UK @ City Hall
11/09 – Reading, UK @ Hexagon
11/10 – Southampton, UK @ Guildhall
11/11 – Guildford, UK @ G Live
11/13 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
11/15 – Bexhill, UK @ De La Warr Pavilion
11/17 – Manchester, UK @ Academy
11/18 – York, UK @ Barbican
11/19 – Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
11/21 – Birmingham, UK @ Symphony Hall
11/22 – Gateshead, UK @ Sage 1
11/25 – Erfurt, DE @ Traum Hits Festival
11/26 – Hamburg, DE @ Grosse Freoheit
11/28 – Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
11/29 – Liepzig, DE @ Taus Auenesse
11/30 – Munich, DE @ Tonhalle
12/02 – Offenbach, DE @ Stadhalle
12/03 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Mitsubishi Electric Hall
12/05 – Tilburg, NL @ TBD
12/06 – Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
12/08 – Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
