What was the last album you listened to?

Artist: Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Album: Dazzle Ships
Genre: Synthpop
Year: 1983
Standout tracks: Genetic Engineering, ABC Auto-Industry, Telegraph, This is Helena, International, The Romance of the Telescope and Of All the Things We've Made

An album which seems to be most known as their "commercial suicide" and where it sold less than 300,000 copies, which compared to their last one who had sold over 4 million copies, I guess pretty much said more than enough and that it was to be a rather hefty price to pay for making such an ambitious record.
For me, this album did not sit too well the first time I heard it. It was not "hate" but it just did not want to sit with me, and I tried and tried but in the end I got fed up and left it for, well a damn long time. But coming back to it once more turned out to be one of the best or most pleasant re-discoveries I have done in recent years.
Turned out that Dazzle Ships was not that bad, in fact it was to be a damn fine album and one which I think could almost match their 1981 classic.

01. Radio Prague - Well, you guessed right. This short intro piece is an theme or opening to some east european radio station along with a heavy use of blowing instruments. Maybe not a fantastic way of opening an album with but it does well in setting up the tone for the rest of the show.

02. Genetic Engineering - Robotic noises and vocals comes flowing in from everywhere on this upbeat and very catchy number.

03. ABC Auto-Industry - A surprisingly melodic piece even though it is done in a much more "strange" manner than their usual songs, which I guess I was maybe not to impressed by when I first heard it, but as the number goes on it ends up with me wanting it to stay with me for a minute or more. 

04. Telegraph - As upbeat and melodic as they come. How this song did not end up as a bigger hit, well I have no idea but it is surely the most radio friendly cuts of the album. 

05. This Is Helena - Another one of those "time-out" cuts which did nothing for me back in 2007, but now hearing them again somehow it seems to work out much better.
Again, I wished this one would have stayed with me for another minute or more. Upbeat, quirky and strangely melodic piece of music.

06. International - From the gruesome details that are either sampled or taken straight off from an old TV or radio broadcast we soon drift into one of the most stunning songs of this album. A slow moving but very intense and powerful number and which comes with some terrific vocals by Andy McCluskey. 

07. Dazzle Ships (Parts II, III & VII) - Where I just could not get into the title track of Architecture & Morality, this nightmarish collection of industrial sounds and noises somehow work much more well with me. Ok, it is not something I would play 10 times in a row like I would with their more upbeat and melodic moments but it is somehow a more captivating piece than I remembered it as, and again I like how these instrumentals keep tying the albums longer and more catchy songs together as a solid unit.

08. The Romance of the Telescope - Is another incredible OMD classic which sounds not that far off International. I think this one actually was made back in 1981, maybe one that was planned for Architecture & Morality but never made it, and instead they make a home for it on Dazzle Ships. A wise idea as it is one of the most stunning songs I have heard from them.

09. Silent Running - A moving and very atmospheric track that again showcases that synthpop could be just as warm and powerful as rock music of that time.

10. Radio Waves - Along with Telegraph the albums most dancable and melodic driven track. 

11. Time Zones - While most of the other "time-out" instrumentals offered something, this, even lasting less than 2 minutes is more annoying than catchy or effective. 
Maybe it should have been used earlier on, as part of Radio Prague or something like that, here it feels like it is tied in, badly against some superious songs. 

12. Of All the Things We've Made - Once again OMD finishes off another album with style. This guitar driven beauty sounds like the slower cousin to The New Stone Age.

Wow, what a change 10 years or more can have.
I could hear its potential but I was far too focused on the songs, in this case the longer ones and ended up briefly going through only to get to those and ignoring the rest, which I now understand was a small mistake as the whole album feel looses much of its value.
I quite admired the fact that OMD had the guts to do something like this, specially after making their best selling album and with most fans and critics expecting another similar sounding record, but instead they got something else and I guess from the poor sales and not too positive reviews at that time, it must have separated not only their fanbase but also I think in some ways the band itself, as I think they got a little shocked at how things went and decided to play it more "safely" on their next one.

While the word "commercial suicide" might have fitted in at the time, still, it would far away destroy the band and they went on to conquer america for a short while, with a little help by John Hughes and Molly Ringwald. 
However, Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships proved that one could combine radio friendly synthpop with far more experimental stuff and make it work very well, however not everybody might agreed on that as it seems to be one of those classic "Love em' or hate em'" records, but I gotta say I do end up feeling that it belongs maybe a little bit more in the "underrated" gems of the 1980s category.

All in all, two fantastic albums in a row and it sure makes me want to go out and look up more of their releases.

9/10