English Electric (album)

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English Electric
File:OMD - English Electric.png
Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Released 5 April 2013 (2013-04-05)
Recorded Motor Museum Studio (Liverpool), Bleepworks (London)
Genre Synthpop
Length 43:05
Label BMG, 100%
Producer OMD
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology
History of Modern
(2010)History of Modern2010		 English Electric
(2013)
Singles from English Electric
  1. "Metroland"
    Released: 25 March 2013
  2. "Dresden"
    Released: 20 May 2013
  3. "The Future Will Be Silent"
    Released: 20 April 2013
  4. "Night Café"
    Released: 2013

English Electric is the twelfth studio album by English synthpop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), and their second since the 2006 reformation of the band. Preceded by lead single "Metroland" on 25 March 2013,[1] it was released on 5 April 2013 by 100% Records and peaked at #12 in the United Kingdom, becoming the group's highest-charting record in their home country since 1991's Sugar Tax; the album topped the UK Indie Chart. As with comeback release History of Modern (2010), English Electric was a Top 10 hit in Germany, reaching #10. It also made #8 on the Dance/Electronic Albums Billboard chart in the United States.

Background

On 14 January 2013, the band announced details of the album release date, track listing, and a teaser video featuring the short Dazzle Ships-esque track "Decimal".[1][2] The album will be released on CD, deluxe CD+DVD, heavyweight vinyl LP, a collector's tin boxset, and also digitally.[1]

The track "Kissing the Machine" was originally featured on the 1993 album Esperanto by Elektric Music, a project by Karl Bartos after he left Kraftwerk. The track, co-written with Andy McCluskey, was completely reworked by Paul Humphreys for English Electric, and features Claudia Brücken as the voice of the machine.[3] The track "Stay With Me" features Humphreys on vocals for the first time since 1986.

The video for "Atomic Ranch" premiered on Pitchfork Media on 4 February 2013.[4] The video is the second of three animations by Henning M. Lederer which will be available on the bonus DVD of English Electric.[5]

The lead single "Metroland" premiered on the BBC Radio 6 Music radio show Radcliffe & Maconie on 11 February 2013.[6] The B-side to "Metroland" is a non-album track titled "The Great White Silence".[7]

The full album was made available to stream on Pitchfork Media on 2 April 2013.

For Record Store Day 2013, on 20 April, a 500-copy limited edition 10-inch picture disc EP of "The Future Will Be Silent" was made available, which includes an exclusive non-album track titled "Time Burns".[8][9]

"Dresden" was released as the second single from the album on 17 May 2013. The promo video was premiered on the New York Times website a week earlier on 10 May 2013.[10] The single bundle features a remix by John Foxx And The Maths who also supported OMD on the UK part of their English Electric Tour.[11]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 76/100[12]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars[13]
The Arts Desk 4/5 stars[14]
The Boston Globe (favourable)[15]
Consequence of Sound 4/5 stars[16]
Express 4/5[17]
The Irish Times 4/5 stars[18]
Magnet 8/10 stars[19]
Mojo 4/5 stars[20]
musicOMH 4/5 stars[21]
PopMatters 8/10[22]

English Electric has received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 15 reviews.[12] An Express writer commented, "That synthpop of theirs is still thumping and penetrating, catchy and crazy and brilliantly familiar. It's fresh and it's pretty wow."[17] Thomas H. Green of The Arts Desk noted, "...History of Modern, tipped its hat to all OMD's musical incarnations and was a mixed bag, if occasionally pleasing. Their new one, however, returns to their pristine synth-pop roots and is a corker."[14]

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Please Remain Seated"   Andy McCluskey 0:44
2. "Metroland"   McCluskey, Paul Humphreys 7:33
3. "Night Café"   McCluskey, Humphreys 3:46
4. "The Future Will Be Silent"   McCluskey, Humphreys 2:41
5. "Helen of Troy"   McCluskey, Bitzenis, Geranios 4:13
6. "Our System"   McCluskey, Humphreys 4:33
7. "Kissing the Machine"   McCluskey, Karl Bartos 5:06
8. "Decimal"   McCluskey 1:16
9. "Stay with Me"   McCluskey, Humphreys, James Watson 4:27
10. "Dresden"   McCluskey 3:37
11. "Atomic Ranch"   McCluskey 1:44
12. "Final Song"   McCluskey, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes 3:25
Notes

Personnel

Credits for English Electric adapted from the liner notes.[24]

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Additional personnel

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[25] 68
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[26] 91
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[27] 49
German Albums Chart[28] 10
Greek Albums Chart[29] 14
Irish Albums Chart[30] 52
Scottish Albums Chart[31] 18
Spanish Albums Chart[32] 60
Swiss Albums Chart[33] 46
UK Albums Chart[34] 12
UK Indie Albums Chart[35] 1
US Dance/Electronic Albums[36] 8

Release history

Region Date Label
Germany[37] 5 April 2013 BMG Rights Management
France[38] 5 April 2013
United Kingdom[39] BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited, 100% Records
Italy[40] 9 April 2013 BMG Rights Management
United States[41]
Japan[42] 24 April 2013 Sony Music Entertainment Japan

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Rock Cellar Magazine: "OMD Detail New Album, English Electric – Out on April 9th." Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/05/10/magazine/100000002216681/exclusive-preview-omds-dresden.html nyt.com exclusive premiere OMD's "Dresden"
  11. ↑ http://blog.thequietman.co.uk/?p=1030 The Quiet Man, John Foxx official blog 21.03.2013
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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