Architecture & Morality

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Architecture & Morality was released on 6 November 1981 and was the third studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. The group was looking for a new direction and found it in the emotional power of religious music. Singer Andy McCluskey stressed that he had not become religious, but wanted to understand why people need religion. The band recorded for two months at The Manor Studio and also worked in their own Gramophone Suite in Liverpool. Peter Saville designed the sleeve.

The sound became warmer and more natural, with choir samples and the Mellotron alongside the synthesizers. On the opener The New Stone Age, strikingly many guitars can be heard. Many songs avoid the usual verse and chorus and use long instrumental passages, in which synthesizer lines take the place of the chorus. Souvenir and Joan of Arc became hits. The first reviews were lukewarm, but later the record was regarded as an important synth-pop album.

Listening

Track list

1. 1The New Stone Age3:23Apple Music ↗
2. 2She's Leaving3:28Apple Music ↗
3. 3Souvenir3:40Apple Music ↗
4. 4Sealand7:47Apple Music ↗
5. 5Joan of Arc3:48Apple Music ↗
6. 6Maid of Orleans4:12Apple Music ↗
7. 7Architecture and Morality3:43Apple Music ↗
8. 8Georgia3:24Apple Music ↗
9. 9The Beginning and the End3:48Apple Music ↗
10. 10Extended Souvenir4:17Apple Music ↗
11. 11Motion and Heart (Amazon Version)3:08Apple Music ↗
12. 12Sacred Heart3:31Apple Music ↗
13. 13The Romance of the Telescope3:23Apple Music ↗
14. 14Navigation3:01Apple Music ↗
15. 15Of All the Things We've Made3:26Apple Music ↗
16. 16Gravity Never Failed3:25Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗