Junk Culture
| Junk Culture | ||||
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| Studio album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | ||||
| Released | 30 April 1984 | |||
| Recorded | 1983–1984 Pre-recorded at Air Studios, Montserrat, ICP Studios, Brussels and Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum Recorded at The Manor Studio, Shipton-on-Cherwell |
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| Genre | Electronica, synthpop | |||
| Length | 43:05 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Brian Tench and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | |||
| Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Junk Culture | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Colin Larkin | |
| Louder Than War | (8.5/10) |
| Ottawa Citizen | (favourable) |
| PopMatters | (favourable) |
| Reading Eagle | (unfavourable) |
| Robert Christgau | B |
| Trouser Press | (favourable) |
| Smash Hits | 7/10 |
| The Sydney Morning Herald | (favourable) |
Junk Culture is the fifth album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released in 1984. After the commercial disappointment of the group's experimental 1983 album Dazzle Ships, OMD and Virgin Records intended for the band to shift toward a more accessible sound on its follow-up release. The record spawned four singles, including the chart hits "Locomotion" and "Talking Loud and Clear".
Core members Humphreys and McCluskey decided to move away from their own "Gramophone Suite" studios in Liverpool, starting on new tracks instead in Highland Studios in Inverness and in Lincolnshire. The group then performed a short series of live shows in September 1983 partly in order to reassure their public and also to showcase the new tracks. These included early versions of "All Wrapped Up", "Tesla Girls", "Junk Culture", "Never Turn Away", "The Avenue" and "Heaven Is". The group then returned to the studio with producer Brian Tench.
A single release was briefly considered for the end of 1983 but rejected by Virgin Records who insisted the band concentrate on the album production. The band and Tench then moved on to Air Studios in Montserrat, the tropical climate and ambiance giving rise among other things the reworking of early track "Wrappup" into the calypso style "All Wrapped Up". Fundamental to the album's sound was also the Fairlight CMI sampler keyboard which the group started using in Montserrat. The group then returned to Europe to finish off the album at Wisseloord Studios in The Netherlands. David Bowie producer Tony Visconti was also recruited to work on the album, his main contribution being the addition and arrangement of brass parts on "All Wrapped Up" and Locomotion, the last track to be completed and the first to be released as a single prior to the album.
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