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POP MUSIC REVIEW
New Order's new wave sounds truly new
BY GLENN GAMBOA
STAFF WRITER
May 7, 2005
With new new-wave all the rage this year, it only makes sense that there be a new New Order to lead the movement again.
In their first New York concert in more than a decade, the new-wave pioneers moved past their mysterious cool image that bands from Interpol to Franz Ferdinand work so hard to cultivate today. Instead, the band's 100-minute set was a celebration of its brilliant past, recast to reflect its still-potent future.
"We hope you enjoyed that as much as we did," singer Bernard Sumner said after a soulful rendition of "Run Wild," revealing the underlying theme for the evening. New Order's past is filled with misfortune - from the suicide of Ian Curtis, lead singer of the band's previous incarnation, Joy Division, to its battles with bankruptcy and substance abuse. Yet nothing but joy is evident onstage these days, from Sumner bouncing around like a schoolboy and busting out some break-dancing moves to bassist Peter Hook's triumphant poses in the spotlight, as he coaxes his unique melodies from his low-slung bass.
For years, New Order has straddled the line between dance music and rock, a move it continues on its new album "Waiting for the Sirens' Call." The one-two punch of new songs - "Hey Now, What You Doing?" and the current single "Krafty" - showed how it leans toward rock, especially with the addition of guitarist-keyboardist Phil Cunningham, who, along with drummer-keyboardist Stephen Morris, gives the band a beefier-sounding core.
The sound is reminiscent of the more rock-oriented days of Joy Division, which eventually became New Order after Curtis' death on the eve of the band's first American tour. Sumner marked the 25th anniversary of Curtis' passing with a pair of Joy Division encores, "She's Lost Control" and "Atmosphere," which still sound current today.
The strongest tribute, though, came earlier during "Love Will Tear Us Apart," which Hook called "an old-fashioned sing-along." The band seemed to feed off the crowd's frenzied reaction to the song, picking up its pace as Sumner screamed "Faster!" while the crowd sang the chorus. That high point was quickly surpassed by a roaring, set-closing version of "Temptation," restored to its manic dance-anthem version rather than the dirge-like version Moby recorded on his current album.
Of course, no New Order show is complete without "Blue Monday," the biggest-selling 12-inch single of all time and the song that launched a new genre by combining British new wave with American hip-hop rhythms and production techniques. Sumner maximized the song's drama, singing the signature line, "Now I stand here waiting," then crossing his arms and tapping his feet, while a swirl of synthesizers and Hook's memorable bass riff sped past him. There's even a nod to the current generation of "Blue Monday" lovers, as they slip in a bit of Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head," which incorporates "Blue Monday" into its remix.
It's a sign of how the band continues to move forward. After all, opener Dragonette showed how easy it is to get stuck in the past. Aside from their first single "I Get Around," the British sextet's 30-minute set was mostly bland synth-pop that could have come out in 1985 - teal-blazered drummer, portable-keyboard player and all.
Dragonette's failure only reinforces how grand New Order's success is at keeping electronic music from becoming too sterile and at keeping rock music from becoming too navel-gazing. It's another innovation that today's new new-wavers need to nick from the masters.
NEW ORDER. Heeding "Sirens' Call" leads the new-wave pioneers back to artistic high ground and mainstream success. At sold-out Hammerstein Ballroom on Thursday. With Dragonette.
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