OMD Moves but Doesn’t Get Too Far : Andy McCluskey is in perpetual motion, but the music is mostly mindless and harmless. Band plays tonight in Anaheim.

Swoongingly romantic synth-pop candy man Andy McCluskey is the sole actual member of OMD these days, after the recent departure of Paul Humphreys (with whom the band was known as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Beware of groups that start as artistes and end as acronyms).

McCluskey, who sings and occasionally plays bass, and his current pickup trio of players--two synthesizer-programmers and a live drummer--bring their act to the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim tonight.

Two sold-out shows at downtown Los Angeles’ newly reopened Variety Arts Center last week marked the act’s first live appearances in the area in more than three years, and going it alone, McCluskey provided enough perpetual motion himself for at least two Orchestral Manoeuvre-ers.

And if the 85-minute program was made up mostly of artificial ingredients--programmed samplers, programmed sentiments--not exactly designed for the adult palate, sweaty McCluskey worked so hard to please the young paying customers that it was hard to disparage him too heartily.

Despite the thin veneer of sophistication in the group’s graphics and general aura, OMD now represents pure, unadulteratedly commercial teen romanticism--innocent, mindless, harmless and catchy more often than not.

McCluskey is more like the old Donny Osmond than is, say, the new Donny Osmond--at least in terms of something parents need not fear. Niftier songs such as “Tesla Girls” are akin to an overtly cheerful Depeche Mode. But here, teens need not even go through the motions of dressing in black and pretending to be morbid to enjoy the singer’s gyrations.

Still, As an eager-to-please frontman, McCluskey can be exuberant to the point of irritation. A typical modern OMD song such as “Call My Name” is basically a ballad with an arbitrary big beat attached, but little did that stop McCluskey from his half-graceful, half-geeky aerobics, which combined snaky torso moves with flailing-limb treadmill motion.

What he does accomplish with his whirlwind watchability is a sleight-of-hand that takes your attention away from the fact that nothing of interest is happening musically on stage.

OMD plays tonight at the Celebrity Theatre in Anaheim. The show is sold out. Information: (714) 999-9536.