Crush by O.M.D -
This album has a bizarre dichotomy of songs; so much so that it's almost like it's actually two totally different EPs mixed together.
There's the über-saccharine, extremely fluffy pop album comprised of "So in Love", "Secret", and "Hold You", the latter two of which are so sweet as to be almost unlistenable.
Happily, there's also the complex, genre-defying (and sometimes downright creepy) artistic album comprised of "Bloc Bloc Bloc", "Women III", "Crush", "88 Seconds in Greensboro", "The Native Daughters of the Golden West", "La Femme Accident", and "The Lights Are Going Out". Thankfully, this album has more than twice as many tracks as the other.
So stark is the contrast here that I'm almost tempted to think that what this really represents is three attempts at commercial viability, and seven actual songs; this theory is strengthened by the fact that "So in Love" and "Secret" did end up being released as singles.
OMD always suffered from inconsistency in album sales, and have admitted that in order to keep making music, they have had to make many concessions to their record companies for the sake of marketability. So while I certainly don't blame them for making the decisions they were forced to make (and some of the songs they were forced to create), I wish I could recommend this album without having to say "but skip tracks 1, 2, and 9."
"Especially 9."
[confession - when I was 14 I really liked "Hold You"]
