Looking forward to this new release in September:
https://www.facebook.com/NewOrderOfficial
They may not be the same without Peter Hook, but the new music samples up on YouTube sound great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SbkcTjJscA
Very heavy on the electronics.
I’m a big New Order fan. I really thought they were done after the last album. I saw them a couple of years ago at the Greek Theater, it was a ‘decent’ show (the Techinique tour in '89 was much better). It’s a bummer about all the fallout with Hooky, but I don’t get all caught up in the drama. It’s funny/sad to see New Order fans arguing with each other on FB about the whole thing.
The previews are ok, the second one is may favorite, sounds a little like Turn from Sirens. People are excited about the electronic tracks, as if they re-capturing the PCL era, but there were dance tracks on the last album that were pretty bad. I hope this isn’t another Republic, actually. I will buy it for sure, they have been one of my favorites for a long time. Their music hasn’t been the greatest since they reformed in the late '90s, but they have managed to squeeze out a few gems in the years since.
1002
This is exciting news!
I thought Get Ready and Waiting For The Siren’s Call had some pretty good tracks, but were a bit pale in comparison to their previous albums.
It’s been a while since I’ve listened to New Order, I think I’m going to break out Low Life and Substance and give those a spin.
Tenohtwo, I also saw the technique tour, with De La Soul PiL and sugarcubes at San Diego State Univ. Good times.
I haven’t bought any new order since Republic, the clip I heard of the new stuff sounds like republic - which I’d enjoy.
You definitely had better openers! In Tempe, we got Throwing Muses. They were…forgettable.
I like 3 or 4 songs on Republic - Regret, Ruined In A Day, Special, Avalanche, the rest has dated poorly, and was a little too '90s dance for me (much like Electronic’s second album). Brotherhood and Technique have always been my favorites, and Substance is one of the best singles compilations ever made. I think the '87 re-do of “Temptation” is the best version out there.
Bernard has never been the poet Ian was, nor have his vocals ever been great (part of the charm of course), but his lyrics and vocals in recent years are almost too ‘vanilla’ and forced. I’m sure there will be some Hook-like bass lines on the new one, but I’m gonna try to keep my expectations tempered.
One of my other favorites, Depeche Mode, can barely string a decent song together these days. “Personal Jesus” ended up changing them for the worse. Now Martin Gore just wants to write blues-y stomp gospels on every album, and they made the poor decision to go all analog and soft synths, when their best material incorporated digital synths and samplers. I think they used analogs on Speak and Spell, which is a horrible album for the most part. They need 8-bit crunchiness and Alan Wilder to give them some backbone again…
Wait, is this a Depeche Mode thread? 
1002
Some good points on DM, and I agree with you for the most part.
There was just something special about Black Celebration, Music For The Masses and Violator. They still sound pretty edgy today. I’m starting to miss the sounds of the DX5, DX7 and EMAX synths.
I enjoy all of the DM albums, but I think you nailed it on the head. They had a better ear for programming and sampling in the mid to late 80s.
One of my other favorites, Depeche Mode, can barely string a decent song together these days. “Personal Jesus” ended up changing them for the worse. Now Martin Gore just wants to write blues-y stomp gospels on every album, and they made the poor decision to go all analog and soft synths, when their best material incorporated digital synths and samplers. I think they used analogs on Speak and Spell, which is a horrible album for the most part. They need 8-bit crunchiness and Alan Wilder to give them some backbone again…
Wait, is this a Depeche Mode thread?
1002
Well said. I’ve seen DM on their last few tours, and while they are still great live, they always seem to feature “Personal Jesus” and “I Feel You” as if it’s their finest work. Alan Wilder had a lot to do with the “classic” sound of DM. “It’s No Good” and “Precious” are probably the best post-Wilder tracks.
Come to think of it - Flood has been behind the mixing desk on some of my favorite albums of all time.
Some good points on DM, and I agree with you for the most part.
There was just something special about Black Celebration, Music For The Masses and Violator. They still sound pretty edgy today. I’m starting to miss the sounds of the DX5, DX7 and EMAX synths.
I enjoy all of the DM albums, but I think you nailed it on the head. They had a better ear for programming and sampling in the mid to late 80s.
I normally dislike the Yamaha DX synths but they seemed to have the right character for what Depeche Mode was doing. They weren’t one of those bands that seemed like they wanted to make the most novel sounds ever heard in terms of synthesis, or to use synths as a means of increasing our “tonal vocabulary” (as producer Surgeon / Anthony Child would put it.) I think they always wanted a sound set that was recognizable as mimicking ‘real’ instruments / choirs etc., yet with enough of a synthetic sheen to provide whatever commentary on tech-industrial society they wanted to add.
So, not for them a wall of Buchla modules or disorienting MAX patches, I guess. I haven’t paid attention to what they’re doing in ages, though, so I guess they must have latched onto the Eurorack / neo-‘modular’ trend [url http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2014/01/31/daniel-millers-modular-synth-masterclass/]as their ol’ label boss Daniel Miller has.
Regardless of what you think of newer DM material,they still deliver live in a big way…
Ultra will always be my favorite release but I love the older classics and some of the newer material as well…
I think after Technique, New Order turned into a great ‘singles’ band. Did anyone happen to pick up the reissues years back that Rhino cocked up? I know they “fixed” the problem, but i don’t want to deal with sending bad copies back. The ridiculous Peter Hook/New Order feud is just sad.
Lowlife and Brotherhood (and earlier stuff) still holds up today imo…
Did anyone happen to pick up the reissues years back that Rhino cocked up? I know they “fixed” the problem, but i don’t want to deal with sending bad copies back.
I held off on buying them for that very reason. Also, most of the bonus tracks from the albums before Technique can also be found on the Substance collection.
Regardless of what you think of newer DM material,they still deliver live in a big way…
Ultra will always be my favorite release but I love the older classics and some of the newer material as well…
I’d add that “101” is one of my favorite concert movies ever; I make a point to recommend it to people who either have no interest in DM or are actively hostile to them.
The goofy “hanging out with Mode fans on the bus” portions notwithstanding, it really is an eye-opening look at what was required to stage a massive spectacle in the late 20th century.
The sequences involving the lighting crew “playing” the light banks, and the part with the merch team counting out huge wads of cash from t-shirt sales, are still pretty unique for this kind of documentary.
Good tune!
[reply]Regardless of what you think of newer DM material,they still deliver live in a big way…
Ultra will always be my favorite release but I love the older classics and some of the newer material as well…
I’d add that “101” is one of my favorite concert movies ever; I make a point to recommend it to people who either have no interest in DM or are actively hostile to them.
The goofy “hanging out with Mode fans on the bus” portions notwithstanding, it really is an eye-opening look at what was required to stage a massive spectacle in the late 20th century.
The sequences involving the lighting crew “playing” the light banks, and the part with the merch team counting out huge wads of cash from t-shirt sales, are still pretty unique for this kind of documentary.[/reply]
Yeah,that is a damn fine concert film…
First single “Restless” is up on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPAfi6fbvTk
Nice! Can’t wait to hear more!
One of my favourite bands of all time, new tune sounds good and I’m looking forward to the new LP.
Post Factory, their LP’s have a lot more polish on them but the music still retains that lust for life/existentialist bedset musings contradiction that’s always attracted me (Regret is the perfect example).
Just a shame that Hooky has turned into an utter ballbag with his various comments and actions. I’ve refused to go see him play JD/NO material with his band because of this, even though he’s now playing Brotherhood live (my favourite NO LP).
I just listened to the Warsaw LP and forgot how different they sounded when they first started out.
Since the new album is on the horizon, now is a good time for me to marathon all of the Joy Division and New Order albums. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard Closer and Brotherhood.
Just a shame that Hooky has turned into an utter ballbag with his various comments and actions. I’ve refused to go see him play JD/NO material with his band because of this, even though he’s now playing Brotherhood live (my favourite NO LP).
Agreed. I did like his 1997 side-project “Monaco”. The single “What Do You Want From Me?” sounded like a missing track from Technique.
[reply] Did anyone happen to pick up the reissues years back that Rhino cocked up? I know they “fixed” the problem, but i don’t want to deal with sending bad copies back.
I held off on buying them for that very reason. Also, most of the bonus tracks from the albums before Technique can also be found on the Substance collection.[/reply]
In my opinion, they ruined some great songs on Substance (Sub-Culture with backup singers!). Anyways, when i feel the need to fork out the $, i’d love to pick up a few reissues…