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