Why Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) didn't achieve the same kind of success as fellow synth-pop artists The Human League and Depeche Mode is a mystery. They should have — perhaps more so than The Human League (although I'm a big fan of the pre-Dare era incarnation, but that's for another review).
Founded in 1978 in Liverpool by Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey, OMD are certainly one of the most influential of the early synth-pop acts. They even appeared on the hugely influential Factory label with their first single, "Electricity," a label shared by a number of influential bands from Manchester.
It wouldn't be until 1986 that OMD achieved some success in the United States with the, frankly, awful single "If You Leave" (from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack). A sappy ballad just isn't OMD's style, but was apparently just what the U.S. audience wanted. Damn you, John Hughes!
In 1983 OMD released Dazzle Ships, a challenging album due to its mix of happy synth-pop, experimentation, and somber reflection. I think it's an underrated effort by the band — and one of my favorite OMD albums.
Dazzle Ships opens with the instrumental "Radio Prague," which starts off with a sampled broadcast from, yes, Radio Prague in Czechoslovakianand the chattering of the Czech announcer before swinging full-gear into the fabulous up-tempo "Genetic Engineering." What a song! Pure synth-pop goodness you can dance to, with a simple but effective synth line and percussion. Andy McCluskey's vocal work, by the way, is really good, and the song has a fun science vibe to it.
"ABC Auto-Industry" is a bit of an experimental number, with the simple vocal "ABC, 123" repeated over and over against a simple synth backdrop and a sampled bit about how robotics is shaping production (before ending with the sampled line "Frankenstein's Monster" over and over again). I'm beginning to sense a theme.
Article comments
1 - Triniman
Absolutely one of my favorite bands, OMD are so not as well known as their they should be.
Genetic Engineering and Telegraph are also found on their compilation albums, which are not a bad place to start, either. But, they are also not the ending point, due to the volume of great songs OMD have.
2 - Scott C. Smith
It was a real disappointment when "Universal" was only released in the U.K. It's still only available as an import (and it was OMD's last album, released in 1996).
Lots of great music from an underated band.
3 - stewart
great review for a great band, would love to get intouch with scott c
Thanks
4 - b
I love this album. Someone played it for me a long time ago. I didn't take OMD very seriously because I knew them for "If You Leave." However, this album changed my view of them and caused me to get into all of their other albums. So I do think this was a good introduction for me. I was attracted to the serious themes. Thanks.