Artist : Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark 

Label : Virgin 

Genre : 80's - Minimal Electro,80's - Synth-Pop / New Wave / Punk / Krautrock

dazzle ships / LP / 205 295

OMD's 4th album followed a reasonably successful self-titled debut in 1980, then the escalating successes of the same year's "Organisation", and "Architecture & Morality" in 1981, but now the lads felt it was time for some experimentation. Britain and Europe in the early 80's was dominated by Margaret Thatcher and her Cold War politics, and this threatening atmosphere greatly influenced Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys' themes on "Dazzle Ships"; however, despite the album's quirky mix of futuristic sounds and Iron Curtain radio broadcasts evoking almost pre-electricity sentiments, it wasn't all doom and gloom. "Genetic Engineering", "Telegraph", "Radio Waves" and "Of All The Things We've Made" all fall well within the synth-pop field, but tracks such as "Time Zones", "This Is Helena" and "ABC Auto-Industry", with found and mechanised vocals, threw the fans completely, as did the title track's evocation of the nightmare world of submarine dread and sonar-blip tension. A couple of the more balladic tracks, such as the dreamy "Romance Of The Telescope", bear vestiges of the late new romantic era, but ultimately the ballads, the pop numbers, the darker moments, the Eastern Bloc radio programs and the assorted bleeps & mechanical voices all seamlessly combine in one of popular music's finest offerings. Top album !!