Not often a song comes along based on Transit-Oriented Development. British synthpop band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) is releasing their 12th album – English Electric – next month featuring this song:
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It helps to know that Metroland was the name given to the suburban areas that were built to the northwest of London in the early part of the 20th century served by the Metropolitan Railway. The term “Metro-land” was coined by the Met’s marketing department to promote a dream of a modern home in beautiful countryside with a fast railway service to central London.
The song is a comment on that dream.
From Rolling Stone:
The poppy synth track mixes a Daft Punk-esque driving bassline, echoing harmonies and soft vocals to eerie result, and the video depicts a sad, soulless picture of suburbia with rapidly changing animation.
McCluskey says the bleak video also captures the spirit of English Electric, which was named after a British industrial manufacturing company. “The overarching feeling tends to be a sense of loss, of melancholia, that things haven’t turned out the way you wanted them to, whether it be with technology or personal relationships,” he tells Rolling Stone.
