The tracklisting collects together all of the B sides, radio edits, extended 12″ mixes and remixes from The Punishment of Luxury era and brings them to CD for the very first time.
This B Sides & Bonus Material release effectively rounds up three singles, delivering ten tracks made up of three non-album B-sides, three single mixes and four extended mixes.
With 2013's English Electric, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark made a record that paid tribute to their heroes Kraftwerk, while also embracing their own mid-'80s sound, which made them the darlings of the John Hughes set. They must have liked the formula they used to get that result, because they repeat it on 2017's The Punishment of Luxury. Now down to the duo of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, they've once again crafted a sleek and shiny synth pop album that has all the clean lines of their original incarnation and all the gloss of their poppiest era. It makes for a very nostalgic listening experience, but it never feels like a museum piece, especially since neither man's voice sounds like it has aged a day…
Endtime Signals channels all the anxiety, fear, and confusion of the world into 12 captivating, empowering tracks.
Endtime Signals is catharsis and darkness, determination, and approbation. The reinvigorated lineup - Joakim Strandberg Nilsson (drums), and Christian Jansson (bass) join Mikael Stanne (vocals), Martin Brändström (keyboards), Johan Reinholdz (guitars) - signifies a new era is upon Dark Tranquillity. Featuring an eye-catching cover by Sundin and a “lived-in” production by Brändström (Rogue Music) and engineering by Alexander Backlund (Fascination Street Studios), as well as a high-octane mix and master by Jens Bogren (Ihsahn, At The Gates), the album parlays all of Dark Tranquillity’s innovatory songcraft into an unparalleled wide-angled experience.
OMD's glistening run of top-flight singles and chart domination came to a temporary but dramatic halt with Dazzle Ships, the point where the band's pushing of boundaries reached their furthest limit. McCluskey, Humphreys, and company couldn't take many listeners with them, though, and it's little surprise why - a couple of moments aside, Dazzle Ships is pop of the most fragmented kind, a concept album released in an era that had nothing to do with such conceits. On its own merits, though, it is dazzling indeed, a Kid A of its time that never received a comparative level of contemporary attention and appreciation. Indeed, Radiohead's own plunge into abstract electronics and meditations on biological and technological advances seems to be echoing the themes and construction of Dazzle Ships…
OMD's glistening run of top-flight singles and chart domination came to a temporary but dramatic halt with Dazzle Ships, the point where the band's pushing of boundaries reached their furthest limit. McCluskey, Humphreys, and company couldn't take many listeners with them, though, and it's little surprise why - a couple of moments aside, Dazzle Ships is pop of the most fragmented kind, a concept album released in an era that had nothing to do with such conceits. On its own merits, though, it is dazzling indeed, a Kid A of its time that never received a comparative level of contemporary attention and appreciation. Indeed, Radiohead's own plunge into abstract electronics and meditations on biological and technological advances seems to be echoing the themes and construction of Dazzle Ships…