Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

Scores of knob-twiddling romantics owe a debt to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, yet on this side of the Atlantic, the pioneering U.K. synth-pop act remains best remembered for providing Pretty In Pink’s sweeping fanfare, “If You Leave.” The revived interest in OMD’s new-wave heyday helped shore up its legacy throughout the ’00s—which the band fortified itself, following the reunion of the band’s “classic,” Architecture & Morality-era lineup. Not content to coast on waves of angular nostalgia, the band released History Of Modern at the end of 2010, an album that might not change the face of OMD, but at least it doesn’t wreck fond memories of “Enola Gay” or “Joan Of Arc (Maid Of Orleans).”

Updated 03/09/2011