If You Leave

[ptrainer]

I was listening to my SB today on random and "If You Leave" by OMD came on and I just thought, what a perfect little new wave/pop gem.

It begins with that fantastic propulsive beat and very Eighties sax flourishes. Enter those cheesy-but-awesome synth-strings. Then comes the synth-choir. It continues to build until it crescendos to an wonderfully melodramatic climax with those reedy and slightly-nasal Brit-pop vocals blooming with pleading lovesick-teenager angst. All this on top of sixties-style 'Ooh Ooh Ooh' overdubbed background vocals. Then it quickly fades away like a half-forgotten memory.

The whole track is extremely well layered with tons of sonic details without ever sounding bloated. Great production and performance all the way around and it just strikes the right spot on that pop music/comfort-food nerve.

And as the song played, I could just picture a teenage Molly Ringwald, from the wrong side of the tracks, finding true love on prom night with her dreamy blue-eyed soul mate. All in the space of four and a half minutes. Perfection!

If you haven't heard this one in a while, go ahead and give it a 'spin.'

[oreillymj]

I was a bit of an OMD fan back in the day.

If you like "If you leave", then give "Talking Loud & Clear" & "So In Love" a listen. They still sound good today. Two little pop gems.