| The Pacific Age is the seventh studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 29 September 1986 by Virgin Records. It was the last of two OMD studio albums produced by Stephen Hague, after Crush (1985). The record exhibits the same refined production values as its predecessor while venturing into the realm of mid-1980s sophisti-pop, retreating further from the group's experimental beginnings.
Working under increasing record label pressure and weathering a creative drought, the band committed each new song to the album with limited deliberation. The Pacific Age met with a largely negative reaction from British critics, but has received acclaim in a number of North American publications. It was a Top 20 entry in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, as well as in multiple European countries. Lead single "(Forever) Live and Die" became the group's second Top 20 hit in the US.
Recording sessions for The Pacific Age were fraught with conflict and debauchery. It would be the last OMD studio album for five years, and the last to feature co-founder Paul Humphreys until 2010's History of Modern. The record has been dismissed by the band, with frontman Andy McCluskey calling it OMD's "musical nadir". |
