This is clear on one of their finest singles: 'Enola Gay' a concise and powerful suggestion of all the destructive contradictions at the heart of nuclear energy. They showcase both of their early concerns: McCluskey's awkward but awesome voice cracks with strain and emotion and the 'Message' is clear: how will love survive in the modern age of disconnect? And the pristine tones and energy of 'Electricity' also conveys a very clear (and pertinent) message: "The chance to change has nearly gone / The alternative is only one / The final source of energy / Solar electricity." They idolised Kraftwerk but also saw the problems with their Utopianism on albums such as Radiation. 'Messages' and 'Electricity' pull soulfulness out of the machine, like Vince Clarke era Depeche Mode meets pawn shop Kraftwerk. Whatever posterity had in mind for them, they emerge here as the fully formed real deal. Add this to their early association with Factory and Peter Saville and it must have been annoying to the band that their postcode painted them as a Merseyside band (Catholic, Celtic, frivolous, backwards-looking) rather than a Greater Manchester band (Protestant, Anglo Saxon, industrious, futurist). Coming out of the Eric's scene, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys bonded over a love of German experimental music like early Tangerine Dream and Can and used synthesizers and DIY equipment made from salvaged radios. They were one of many, many bands to be spurred into action by the shock waves caused by punk, but even during the extremely fertile period of post punk they managed to stand head and shoulders above most. But if you want to chose one Merseyside band who combined an industrious ethic, a combination of the pop and the avant-garde and an undeniable gift for melody and emotional evocation, then OMD are your band. Frankie Goes To Hollywood captured the hysteria and the record sales for a single year Echo and the Bunnymen certainly had the vaulting ambition - and a singer easily the match for Lennon and McCartney stuck together Teardrop Explodes had the same homespun psychedelia and experimentation with rock's standards, while Michael Head (Shack, Pale Fountains) is certainly a match lyrically. OMD are the only Liverpool band to come near to living up to the monolithic standards of productivity and creativity set in place by the Beatles.
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