OMD's experimental brand of synth-pop has garnered limited mainstream attention. The group generally eschew choruses, replacing them with synthesizer lines, and opt for unconventional lyrical subjects such as war and machinery; the BBC wrote that "OMD were always more intellectual" than "contemporaries like Duran Duran and Eurythmics". The band also rejected celebrity status and strove "to have no image". Despite the group's experimentation, they had an "established knack for pop hooks"; AllMusic critic Mike DeGagne wrote that OMD's music was "a step above other keyboard pop music of the time, thanks to the combination of intelligently crafted hooks and colorful rhythms". DeGagne's colleague Jon O'Brien remarked that the outfit were "ahead of their time".