Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Architecture & Morality

PLEADING FOR AMOUR AT THE GATES OF HEAVEN

Sappy, New Romantic melodrama. Primitive synthesizers; shallow and contagious. Anemic vocals; languid and flaccid. On the surface, Architecture & Morality is everything I dislike about 80's Synthpop. So what gives? Well, for lack of a better explanation, heart. A desire to correlate lyrical pang with elaborate production flourishes. The kind that would make Andrew Lloyd Webber proud. Far too often, infantilized Synthpop suffered from redundancies, tactics tried and tested that soured with over-analyzation. Bands like Simple Minds, Thompson Twins, and a-ha could perfect a vibe that translated magnificently to the age of the radio, but faltered immensely whenever one snagged that full-length cassette tape. Such was not the case with Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark, at least my experience with Architecture & Morality and Dazzle Ships. Identifiable and varied, paced with an eye on artistry over accessibility, OMD achieved all this while still maintaining a knack for the ear worm.

On first listen, it was a case of one-upsmanship. With its thudding, Jangle Pop guitars, siren call synthesizers, and frenzied back-and-forth singing, 'The New Stone Age' gripped with tenacious hands. Then, in typical 180 fashion, OMD reverts to the land of expectation on 'She's Leaving,' mastering the impassioned cries of breakup Synthpop with anthemic, instrumental hooks. Depeche Mode has them to thank. Then, an infinitely-tender touch with the voice of a womanly angel on 'Souvenir.' Or is that just Paul Humphreys? His cocksure femininity scaling over a genre filled with men determined to be dainty.

Then, in a moment of artistic whiplash, 'Sealand' curbs the pattern of pleasure for eight minutes of moody existentialism that reaches back to Kraftwerk's Radio-Aktivität era to signal for a future of spiritual Post-Rock courtesy of Talk Talk. The gap is splendid and sealed. And though 'Sealand' interrupts an otherwise-flawless five-track run, that purposeful aberration only further strengthens the importance of Architecture. Especially within context, as the duality between strident drums and sterile synthesizers, and the futile, weeping, religious overtones helps instill the distinction between two antithetical halves; permanence and transience. A bifurcation that would influence a myriad of future artists (see: Son Lux, Xiu Xiu, Algiers). Later on, the title track would accomplish this with even greater carelessness, separating another consistent run with pure, disgruntled Industrial predating the would-be inspirations of Psychic TV and Legendary Pink Dots.

Apart from those moments of nihilistic automation, every other track on Architecture is approachable and defiant. Nowhere does OMD slouch or fill in the blanks. The two-part 'Joan Of Arc' and 'Maid Of Orleans' are stadium-fillers, featuring crying vocals and choral arrangements. The medieval vibe protrudes, doing an exquisite job paralleling Joan Of Arc's... well, um, arc. And while 'Georgia' and 'The Beginning & The End' don't compare to previous efforts, each still maintains a level of originality and finality that completes the LP, fitting a golden ribbon atop its perfectly-wrapped present. Though competition is certainly abound, I'd have a hard time putting any 80's Synthpop record above this. That, made all the more impressive by the 1981 release date. Through subtle tones and a penchant for the theatrical, Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark nailed a style that far too many merely frolicked and fluffed.