[4] Momus, who had spent much of the 2000s living in and visiting Japan, recruited American producer Rusty Santos to record the initial demos in Berlin, adding further samples from Enka music during a stay in Osaka.

[3] Momus variously described the album as "communistic"[5] and "feminine", stating that he wanted to "make something as static, as friendly, as consensual, as self-effacing, as Japan itself".

[3] The album's final title references Ocky Milkman, a character in Welsh writer Dylan Thomas' 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood.

Pitchfork contributor Matt LeMay called Ocky Milk "wordy and culturally adroit", praising Momus' "new embrace of restraint and minimalism".

[6] Critics generally saw the album as a departure from Momus' 1990s work, noting a focus on digital instrumentation over his often-literary and clever lyrics.