Because it's a series of tracks written both over a long period of time and before they'd hit upon an original voice, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark does at some points seem like an artful pastiche of overground electronic influences. He, along with fellow multi-instrumentalist Paul Humphreys, wrote and recorded songs throughout the late 70s, the best of which were compiled for their 1980 self-titled debut. In its earliest guises, the Liverpudlian group's only connection to American hits such as "If You Leave" and "So In Love" were the dramatic vocals of co-founder Andy McCluskey. The Human League got their well-deserved due earlier in the year with reissues of their three most vital records- augmented by bonus tracks- and now OMD's peak years get the same treatment. But with the indie calendar turned back 20 years, it almost makes sense, and who knows: maybe once the embers of post-punk are fully explored and its rigid dance moves are all perfected, a synth-pop revival is next. With that in mind, I was almost as much surprised as I was pleased to learn that Virgin bothered to release reissues of OMD's first three albums in America. music discourse in favor of hegemonic assumptions and lazy potshots. So like Adam and the Ants, the Human League, and Dexy's Midnight Runners, among others, their homeland success and spirit of experimentation has been erased from U.S. crossover success didn't come until their sixth album, by which time its more creative juices had stopped flowing. TPOL is a triumph because the band chose to stick to their guns and travel their own path without leaving their audience behind.Most American music fans don't seem to know it, but Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark were around long before Andie and Ducky worked up the self-esteem to show up stag to the prom. Often-times beautiful and most certainly relevant. In fact, the whole album is a strange blend of classic early OMD remixed by Kraftwerk circa 1986 (the TECHNO POP/ELECTRIC CAFÉ era) and given a modern 2017 overhaul. It’s fun (“Robot Man” straddles the line between ‘novelty tune’ and ‘ear worm’), The single “Isotype” sounds like the perfect blend of the warmth of OMD and the icyness of Kraftwerk. Radio may not hop on “Precision & Decay” (with McCluskey’s bass playing the song’s main melody) or “La Mitrailleuse” (complete with the ominous sounds of gunfire and bombs) but they’re sure going to embrace hook-filled gems like the haunting “What Have We Done,” the daring “One More Time” and the Poptastic title track. On TPOL, they go full-frontal experimental on nearly half the album without losing any of their knack for a keen melody. Recently, they’ve made quite the comeback with two fantastic Pop-oriented albums – 2010’s HISTORY OF MODERN and 2013’s ENGLISH ELECTRIC – both of which contained just enough unorthodox moments to keep their audience satisfied. They are fully aware of what their fans want but they aren’t afraid to fuck with the formula either. Leaders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys are smart chaps.
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