Search - Omd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark :: Junk Culture

Taking the plunge...

Kid A | Boulder, CO | 03/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As another reviewer noted, this album marks OMD's departure from the more synthy/new-wavy/electronic sounds they embraced on earlier releases, especially Dazzle Ships.



Although Junk Culture doesn't fully embrace the pop culture as the follow up album, Crush, did, there was still a notable pop influence on this release. I don't say that as a bad thing, either. Good pop is still good music. It's just a shame that there's so much *bad* pop, but I digress.



Junk Culture took a little bit of time to sink in with me. I admit it. I love Crush. I suppose part of that is sentimental, as it was my girlfriend of the time (and wife now, so many years later) that exposed me to OMD via Crush. I had always liked Organisation and their other, older albums. Once I fell for Crush, though, I think the beauty of Junk Culture was finally exposed to me.



The great thing about Junk Culture is exactly its merging of the quirkiness of OMD's earlier material with the more pop-oriented melodies of the time. Those two elements came together in Junk Culture to create a genuinely unique work. You just can't go wrong with the eccentric Tesla Girls, the emotion of Love and Violence or the Latin flair of All Wrapped Up.



Any fan of the '80s owes it to themselves to own this album. It may not be my favorite OMD album, but it does a great job of displaying both sides of the OMD coin. It has also stood the test of time, in my opinion sounding as brilliant today as it did 20+ years ago."

Junk Culture-Loved The Title. It became my first OMD purcha

XraySpex | 01/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After buying this I fell in love with OMD and the album spent a lot of time on my turntable(dating myself). I never cared for instrumentals and always skip them so I ignored the title track, but the rest of the album was great. The songs have aged pretty well and my favorites are ones most people ignore. "Love & Violence", and "Hard Day" are brilliant. "Love & Violence" captures the behavior of a couple going through difficulties in their relationship with chilling accuracy and "Hard Day", does the same for the working class. This is a great CD and is enjoyable on many levels.

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