Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Junk Culture Half-Speed Mastered 180g LP

OMD's fifth studio album, Junk Culture, was released in 1984 and features the UK hits, "Locomotion," "Talking Loud and Clear," and fan-favorite, "Tesla Girls." Available on 180g vinyl remastered from the original half-inch reels and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios.

A consciously more melodic effort than its experimental predecessor, Dazzle Ships, the album was lauded across the board. Produced by the band and Brian Tench (with additional contributions by Tony Visconti), Junk Culture was recorded at a variety of locations including AIR Studios in Montserrat, using the band's newly-acquired, state-of-the-art Fairlight CMI sampler keyboard, and mixed at Wisseloord in Hilversum, Netherlands.

The record also returned OMD to the upper reaches of the singles charts, featuring "Locomotion," "Talking Loud and Clear," and the club hit "Tesla Girls." The version of "Tesla Girls" here differs slightly from the one used on the original album.

"The final version we did for the original album was made out of the 12-inch extended version," explains OMD's Paul Humphreys. "For this reissue, we elected to use the Wisseloord edit version as it's the same arrangement that we play live, and I think it's the best one. The one on the original album goes around the piano riff twice in the intro but I think this Wisseloord edit was always the definitive version."

Junk Culture exhibits all the best qualities of OMD at their most accessible — instantly memorable melodies and McCluskey's distinct singing voice, clever but emotional lyrics, and fine playing all around.