What does it sound like?:
Afterword has been granted a sneak preview of ‘Music Complete’ ahead of it’s release in all good record shops this Friday (25/9). So here are the not so young men and women – and oh look, they’ve brought along some showbiz pals…
Nothing excites me less than the promise of ‘special guest appearances’ on albums (well OK maybe the promise of “Paul Weller’s new Krautrock direction” or yet another Jack White side project). They always smack of desperation – and perhaps a lack of confidence or indeed ideas. New Order have form in this respect, having the likes of Bobby Primal Scream and Ana Matronic out of Scissor Sisters delight us on previous records. It may give journalists something to write about it but is anyone seriously more likely to ‘check out’ New Order by the presence of Iggy Pop or matey from The Killers? I doubt it.
I was a massive New Order fan in the 80s, however two lackluster albums and the embarrassing and very public ongoing mud slinging between them and Hooky has taken the shine off somewhat. The mystique, magic and mystery they once had is long gone – (apparently late manager and 5th member Rob Gretton was behind all that anyway – god knows what he’d make of the current state of affairs).
They’re at the stage in their career now I guess where expectations are low (if they were The Stones they’d be touring ‘Bridges to Babylon’ by now ) and all anyone expects is them to earn a few quid playing the hits on the festival circuit and make records with a few glimmers of past glories. So, I’m going in…
The not at all bad lead single, Restless kicks thing off – with those familiar chord patterns and a plunging bassline and the usual New Order trademarks.
‘Plastic’ is perhaps their most electronic based track for some time, previous albums being swamped in layers of guitars (probably played by the additional NewOrderBlokes who I always think let the side down by being able to play ‘properly’) -there is a nod to Giorgio Moroder and a wonky middle bit where they mess around with the drum machines – just like the old days.
‘Tutti Frutti’, similarly is an old school all-stops pulled out New Order style Eurodisco stomper. ‘People on the High Line’ drafts in an approximation of Chic-style funk (New Order were always big Chic fans right back to the early days). Iggy Pop intones some spoken word lyrics over ‘Stray Dog’ – it’s OK but perhaps serves to add something substantial to a rather pedestrian instrumental track.
‘Academic’ is perhaps the best of the more guitar based tracks, with a distinctive Steven Morris drum part and were it not for the glossy sounding production would fit on Brotherhood. ‘Superheated’ the Brandon Flowers collaboration is, unsurprisingly, XFM friendly drivel that sounds exactly like The Killers and nothing like New Order.
Onto the bass-slinging elephant in the room – how does it sound without Mr Hook?. There are still faux-Hooky style bass guitar lines added which approximate his signature sound – it seems an odd thing to do, having someone ape his distinctive style right down to using the same type of FX and high-up the neck playing – if there is one thing missing it is Hooky’s way with a lead line (he is essentially more a lead guitarist than a bass player) and if ever a band was the sum of it’s parts it was New Order and it’s perhaps tribute to Hooky that they feel the need to get someone to impersonate him in order to sound like ‘New Order’.
What does it all *mean*?
It’s certainly nice to hear them move away from the rather workmanlike Indie rock they were peddling on the last couple of records and with Gillian Gilbert back behind the keyboards they finally reconnect with the electronics and the dancefloor. As with their recent stuff, it’s very ‘produced’ with female backing vocals, tons of overdubs and fairy dust – but lacks the naive charm and experimentation of their earlier work when they used their wits and worked harder against their limitations. I read that Factory Floor were one of the bands that particularly inspired Gillian to get back into music again, it’s a shame their minimalism didn’t rub off on this record.
Ultimately it’s an enjoyable record with some strong songs on it. I listened to ‘Waiting for the Siren’s Call’ once – never to be played again, I’ll certainly play this more often – it has many flaws and it definitely could do with a certain Mr Hook adding a bit of grit, and perhaps they need to look to their contemporaries like Wire or PiL who have the confidence to release convincing new stuff with the singular vision they always had, without having to draft in help from celebrity guests. It’s a bit of a mess – but then their best albums always were.
Goes well with…
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Pet Shop Boys, Electronic, Iggy Pop, The Killers
Bargepole says
Great review, really enjoyed reading it – and how did you manage to get it to post! (Did you have any problems?)
The Good Doctor says
Thanks @bargepole I did have problems posting – the only way around it was to submit it a shorter version and then add the rest by logging in as an administrator! We’re closer to finding the solution now so hopefully be fixed soon.
Bargepole says
That’s good news – have got a few reviews ready to go but can’t face the hassle of posting them with the problems with the site at the moment @dr-volume
bricameron says
File under,forgotten,vanity press.
SixDog says
No Hooky, no New Order.
Should’ve resurrected ‘The Other Two’ brand and carried that on.
But I doubt that would’ve shifted units
Poppy Succeeds says
Mine arrived earlier. I’ve only listened to it once but it’s certainly not the disaster I anticipated.
Sewer Robot says
Cuh! You just know when he sings “don’t ever let her drift away” he’s referring to his yacht…
Chris says
I’m enjoying it, I must say, but here’s a question for you – anyone else get the vinyl? Just wondering what’s actually supposed to be in the 12-page booklet that comes with it. Mine has some b/w versions of the album cover on alternate pages, the rest are completely blank. No lyrics, nowt. Anyone else?
The Good Doctor says
The blank pages are entitled “The Wit and Wisdom of Bernard Sumner”
Poppy Succeeds says
This is really growing on me.
biggles says
Agreed!
Especially “side 1”. “Singularity” in particular really is rather good.
Although Barney wasn’t really up to much on the BBC Maida Vale set I saw, I am now almost looking forward to next month’s arrival of the vinyl remix boxset from their website…