Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Messages: Greatest Hits (Virgin)

Between them Andy McClusky and Paul Humphries have been responsible for creating two brilliant, but very different, bands. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the early 80s Factory descendents who sampled blast furnaces and the Stanlow oil refinery. And OMD, the late 80s stadium pop act who defied all expectation by updating their sound and becoming – if only briefly – a relevant force in the 90s. It’s sometimes difficult to reconcile the fact that the two came from the same people, and consequently difficult to package the two together in one Best Of. Which is possibly why Virgin keeps trying over and over again.

This is their third major compilation release, with only minor tweaks in track listing from 1998’s The OMD Singles. But in the ten years since then the band have taken hold of their heritage and begun to repackage it and reperform it to renewed critical acclaim. And the main reason to buy this one is the bonus DVD, which contains 30 promo videos (11 of which are available for the first time) and one Top Of The Pops performance (for Joan of Arc).

The early and later videos remain stylish and, while OMD’s videos from the mid-80s (cod love stories that make Brookside look glamorous) have been derided for a long time, here in context they’re like classic retro museum pieces, the colour, comedy part of a fascinating, diverse legacy.

Various Asrtists – Just Stand Up! (iTunes)

Following the hour-long US TV show Stand Up to Cancer, comes this download-only single in support of the new charity. Featuring a veritable roll-call of divadom, it’s produced by a reunited LA and Babyface and comes with a digital booklet. Well worth the download, if only to hear Beyonce facing off against Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Ashanti, LeAnn Rimes and Natasha Bedingfield.

Little Boots – Magical Tropical Mixtape (MySpace)

Little Boots is a big anomaly. A Blackpool based kid of 90s, one minute she’s at the piano sounding like Kate Bush’s celestial daughter, the next she’s banging on a Tenori-on (techno keyboard/drum machine hybrid) and rattling off covers of Haddaway and Wiley, making them sound like genre classics, which – perhaps – they always were. Her new single Meddle is out on coloured 7” vinyl and, if you’re prepared to part with just your email address to join her mailing list, she’s put together this free 43-minute mixtape which will give you a pretty accurate feel for where she’s coming from. Or, for instant intrigue, check the videos and weekly cooky cover versions at youtube.com/user/littlebootsvideos.

Mercury Rev – Snowflake in a Hot World (Spin.com)

This thick, electro-tinged spaced out song is a taster for a fresher, more techno album from Mercury Rev (September 30’s Snowflake Midnight). It’s available for free full-length download from US magazine SPIN’s website (at www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-mp3-mercury-rev-snowflake-hot-world) which also recently played host to an exclusive stream of Noise Epic by The Verve.

Feeder – NapsterLive Session (Napster)

Feeder are the latest band to record an exclusive live acoustic session for iTunes rival Napster. There are four tracks in total and – one great scoop Napster has over iTunes – you can preview each and every one in full (as opposed to iTunes’ short preview) before you buy. Here they run through three tracks from new album Silent Cry before cutting loose on the essential download – a cover of the Johnny Cash favourite, Hurt.