Pete Hannon

I'm a fan. It has to be said that I am biased but I'm not like some sad Depeche Mode lover who has to grin and bear it despite a somewhat notable absence of synthesisers. Fortunately for us Andy and Paul are as faithful to their early musical inspiration as can be. So here we have an album, albeit made with computer generated sounds, that positively reeks of synth-goodness. This album has some seriously good music and is incredibly enjoyable with many motifs of OMD's past output scattered liberally throughout the tracks. Disassociated German voices anyone? Yep, it's there. Vocoder interlude? Check. Kraftwerk drum beats anyone? Kerching! Mellotron choirs? Someone throw a bucket of cold water over me! Best of all there are even a few tracks with future earworm synth line hooks that will no doubt revisit you around three in the morning. This is rumoured to be OMD's last album. I sincerely hope not but if it is then it is best to go out with a bang. Not wanting to come over too Abba-esque but thank you for the music guys. You have brightened up my life for many many years and I cannot thank you enough.