You might not remember their full name, but you cannot venture through any John Hughes film or any other movie set in the 1980s without hearing OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). Hailing from Wirral, England, the foursome Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper and Stuart Kershaw are known for transitioning from heady art-school synth-punk in 1976 to the forefront of New Wave synth-pop in the early 80s. Their incredible set—which was supposed to be their 40th-anniversary tour in 2020, but was “pandemically delayed”—at the historic Fox Theater in Oakland, California demonstrated why this band will always be endearing to people who love to dance…with a little thoughtfulness. McCluskey’s genuine affability and willingness to start the dance party himself was enough to set the tone for the evening, with an inter-generational crowd on its feet from beginning to end. Playing hit after hit like their early “Messages”, the hopelessly romantic “So In Love”, Humphreys-performed “Secret”, dance-hit “Tesla Girls” (whom McCluskey jokingly says is still waiting to hear from Elon Musk about), the intensely infectious “Enola Gay”, the iconic Pretty In Pink anthem “If You Leave”, and their chart-topper “Electricity” (which, also according to McCluskey, was the single that sparked a young Vince Clark to start Depeche Mode), OMD showed what a legacy band is capable of. They are simply Merseyside lads who genuinely love to perform, support each other, and came to celebrate four decades of music.

In The Valley Below is not the keyboard-heavy outfit you would think would be paired with OMD, but is instead a joyful, loving, blues-meets-dream-pop duo formed by Jeffrey Mendel and Angela Mattson in 2011. The pair met each other at SXSW in Austin TX, and came together in Los Angeles, but Jeffrey grew up in the Bay Area (in fact, his first “showbiz” experience was at Children’s Fairyland near Lake Merritt in Oakland) and Angela is from Michigan but lived for a while in the West Indies. Their story is miraculous and filled with aligning stars, so of course, it’s easy to compare them to a Buckingham-Nicks love-knot, but truthfully, there is more Tom Petty and Bob Dylan via Tame Impala and Kings Of Leon going on (in fact, their name comes from a Dylan lyric in “One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)”, than any Fleetwood Mac per se. They are so in sync that even when their drum track stopped suddenly during their song “Peaches”, they immediately regathered and belted out the remainder of the song together. Their latest album, The Pink Chateau was released in 2019 and is filled with gems like “Bloodhands (Oh My Fever)” and “Control”, but check out their newest single, released only a day ago, “Candy Hearts”.

If you want to feel the love, you need to check these two out.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark Review