Junk Culture
	Produced by Brian Tench and O.M.D.
	Released on April 30, 1984
	UK CHART POSITION #9 . . . US CHART POSITION #182
	Find it at GEMM
SP-6-5027 cover

C redit the band with understanding that synthesizer pop had moved from the headphones to the dance floor. For every person listening to “Vienna” in the dark were dozens more in the malls and clubs waiting for the right “Locomotion” to drive their buying behavior. I’m not calling Junk Culture a sell out, but it is good marketing: snappy window dressing and a better balance of angst and fashion. Dazzle Ships floundered from a lack of direction, pulled between the gravity of their earlier work and the lure of a “Telegraph.” By contrast, Junk Culture soars like helium, unfettered by the heavy ideas of Dazzle Ships. “Tesla Girls” really isn’t deep at all, neither is “Apollo” or “Love And Violence.” They only feign toward deepness, since OMD had discovered that people were only peeking into the depth of “Bunker Soldiers” or “Genetic Engineering” anyway. I have to admit that, the first time I heard Junk Culture, it rang awfully hollow in my head. But slightly subversive elements rose to the surface eventually, and soon even I had to admit that few OMD albums were as listenable and, yes, enjoyable as Junk Culture. My tastes still run toward the exotic: the instrumental “Junk Culture,” “White Trash.” And the single “Talking Loud And Clear” is simply one of the best things they’ve done. I’m usually slow to accept that suffering young artists can soften with age, so I judge them harshly for their happiness when, in fact, what separates a Junk Culture and Soul Mining is rather small. What separates a Junk Culture and Crush is not, however; the feyness that seemed tongue-in-cheek on “Apollo” seemed (yikes) sincere on “So In Love.” In a sense, OMD and Tears For Fears were the Everly’s of the ‘80s; let’s hope they age as well.

SP-6-5027 back cover	SP-6-5027 lyric sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. TESLA GIRLS    3:50
2. LOCOMOTION    3:53
3. JUNK CULTURE    4:05
4. APOLLO    3:37
5. NEVER TURN AWAY    3:56
6. LOVE AND VIOLENCE    4:40
7. HARD DAY    5:38
8. ALL WRAPPED UP    4:22
9. WHITE TRASH    4:34
10. TALKING LOUD AND CLEAR    (O.M.D./Martin Cooper)    4:17
    
    All songs written by O.M.D. unless noted

CREDITS

MARTIN COOPER -- Prophet 5, Emulator, tenor and soprano saxophone, Roland SH2, marimba
MALCOLM HOLMES -- acoustic and electronic drums, Latin percussion, drum computer programming
PAUL HUMPHREYS -- vocals, Roland JP8, Emulator, Korg preset, acoustic piano, Fairlight CMI, Celeste, Prophet 5
ANDREW McCLUSKEY -- vocals, bass, guitar, Roland JP8, Emulator, Fairlight CMI, Latin percussion
Jan Faas -- trumpet (2,8)
Maureen Humphreys -- vocals (1)
Brian Tench - additional backing vocals, mixing engineer
Gordian Troeller -- piano (2), Roland JP8 (9)
Bart van Lier -- trombone (2,8)
Jan Vennik -- tenor sax (2,8)
Tony Visconti -- brass arrangements (2,8)
Michel Diericks -- engineer
Steve "Wolf" Jackson -- engineer
Ronald Prent -- engineer, mixing engineer
Peter Wolliscroft -- engineer
PSA -- sleeve design
Richard Haughton -- sleeve photography

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