ORCHESTRAL MANEUVERS IN THE DARK - TELEGRAPH, 1983

Dazzle Ships was the fourth album released by OMD, a synth wave band from England who began with a one-off single produced by Martin Hannet on the legendary Factory Records in 1978. The entire album is incredible, conceived around visions of cryptic Cold War tension and the rise of computers in everyday life from European and global references. Dazzle Ships turned meditations of biological science and a technologically advanced future into surprisingly lush, soaring pop songs (the even numbered tracks) next to sudden stop-start instrumental sound collages of time zone recordings and shortwave radio broadcasts (the odd numbered tracks). The title and cover art were based on dazzle camouflage and designed by Factory’s Peter Saville, who’s distinctive graphic style was responsible for OMD’s public image well into the 80’s.