The band, composed of David Bowie, Reeves Gabrels on guitar and brothers Tony Fox and Hunt Sales on bass and drums, respectively, recorded it in Sydney, Australia in late 1989 at the conclusion of the Tin Machine Tour.

Tin Machine II received mostly mixed reviews from music critics, with many highlighting individual tracks but considering the project as a whole mediocre.

At the tour's completion, Tin Machine disbanded and Bowie resumed his solo career, releasing his eighteenth studio album, Black Tie White Noise (1993).

Bowie's biographers have given Tin Machine II mixed reactions, with most recognising it as inconsistent in quality and panning two tracks sung by Hunt Sales.

[7][8] The album's tracks were recorded raw and live with few overdubs to capture the energy of Tin Machine,[9] resulting in a hard rock sound with lyrics discussing world issues and love.

Tin Machine played an impromptu show at a small Sydney venue on 4 November 1989 before taking a rest in January 1990 as Bowie conducted his solo Sound+Vision Tour and filmed a role in The Linguini Incident (1991).

[20] At the time, EMI were undertaking a reissue campaign with the American label Rykodisc of Bowie's back catalogue,[23] which remained unaffected by the split.

[20] The label requested a radio-friendly hit so Hugh Padgham, Bowie's co-producer for Tonight (1984), was hired to oversee work on the song "One Shot".

[24] Padgham told biographer David Buckley that he was not a fan of Tin Machine's prior work, stating it "sounded like a mad bunch of people".

Bowie and Gabrels had begun working on "Shopping for Girls" in August 1988 before the sessions began,[6] while "If There Is Something", a Roxy Music cover, was the second song the band recorded after "Heaven's in Here".

"[27] Author James Perone agreed, calling the tracks more accessible than the debut, featuring more conventional hard rock sounds and less "incessant gloom".

[28] Jon Pareles of The New York Times found the lyrics mostly focus on love, signalling out "Baby Universal" and "Betty Wrong" as clear examples.

It depicts four Kouroi—Greek statues dating to the sixth century BC—that represent individuals who lack identity, which Pegg believes encapsulates the "ethos" of Tin Machine.

[20] Tin Machine II was released through Victory Music and London Records on 2 September 1991 on different LP and CD formats,[a][6] with the catalogue numbers 828 2721 and 828 2722, respectively.

[39] Bowie married supermodel Iman in 1992 and resumed his solo career with Black Tie White Noise (1993); Gabrels remained his collaborator for the rest of the decade.

on the cover, felt that the album does not "quite match up to their wonderfully overwrought but sadly under bought debut", while praising individual tracks such as "If There Was Something", "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" and "Shopping for Girls".

In Creem, Steve Appleford found Tin Machine II "a return to raw form" and called it "the best music Bowie's released since 1980's Scary Monsters".

[48][49] This was echoed by Tony Horkins of International Musician magazine, who initially hypothesised that "maybe, like the rest of Bowie's career, it'll all make a lot more sense in a few years time".

He noted the improved production from their debut and highlighted "Amlapura", "Goodbye Mr. Ed", "Baby Universal" and "You Belong in Rock 'n' Roll" as standouts.

[20] He states that the album features "more balanced and polished" production than their debut and greater instrumentation, calling Bowie's saxophone playing on the record some of his best in years.

[20] Buckley agrees, finding the record to be a mixed bags of both good and bad tracks, praising "Shopping for Girls" and "Goodbye Mr. Ed" while panning "Stateside" and "Sorry".