Bauhaus Staircase

The album title was derived from the Oskar Schlemmer painting, Bauhaus Stairway (1932).

During 2020's COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, OMD frontman Andy McCluskey "rediscovered the creative power of total bloody boredom", writing the majority of what would become Bauhaus Staircase.[1] This involved McCluskey penning music and lyrics to accompany various song title ideas he had accumulated, including "Bauhaus Staircase", "Kleptocracy", and "Anthropocene" (the album's original title).[2] Bandmate Paul Humphreys noted that the record also features older tracks the group had previously struggled to complete.[3] COVID restrictions meant that the duo had to work remotely, via the internet.[4] Humphreys had recently become a father, which delayed his mixing of the album;[1] rock producer David Watts was responsible for mixing "Kleptocracy" and "Slow Train".[2]

Bauhaus Staircase was largely inspired by world politics during the late 2010s and early 2020s, being described by the band as their "most explicitly political record".[5][6] In particular, "Kleptocracy" takes aim at right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Boris Johnson. The title track pays homage to the Bauhaus art movement in pre-Nazi Germany. Elsewhere, "Anthropocene" and "Evolution of Species" deal with ecological themes, while "G.E.M." and "Aphrodite's Favorite Child" are personal songs written for figures in McCluskey's life. The Goldfrapp-inspired "Slow Train" features stream of consciousness-style lyrics penned in a similar fashion to those of 1991 hit, "Sailing on the Seven Seas".[2][7] The album title is derived from the Oskar Schlemmer painting, Bauhaus Stairway (1932).[8]

The release of Bauhaus Staircase – set for 27 October 2023[8] – has been preceded by three singles: the title track, "Slow Train", and "Veruschka".[9] McCluskey has stated that the album is likely to be OMD's last.[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	9/10[7]
Classic Pop	[11]
Mojo	[12]
Record Collector	[13]

Record Collector named Bauhaus Staircase their "New Album of the Month".[14] Critic Dave Pollock wrote that it "is continued evidence that some recorded comebacks – this one, in particular – happen to be exactly the right thing for a group to do... It may occasionally sound warmly, comfortingly like the past, but this is an album with its mind fixed firmly on the future."[13] Classic Pop awarded Bauhaus Staircase "Best New Release" honours in their November–December issue, with John Earls calling it "yet another stellar latter-period gem" that would make for "a hell of a last studio statement".[11] Mojo journalist Victoria Segal said, "Four albums into their reunion, Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys have proved OMD to be an impressively hardy life form... Bauhaus Staircase shows OMD thriving as much as surviving.[12] Mat Smith of Clash observed a "stellar return blessed with power, determination and conviction".[7]