New Order - Waiting For The Sirens Call
http://www.sound-check.net/editorial/neworder036.htm
With their stock so high at the moment in terms of influence, from the pillaging of their back catalogue by The Killers to Interpol's clear admiration of Joy Division - and in light of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the death of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis - 'Waiting For The Sirens Call' has to be the most eagerly anticipated New Order release since 1989's 'Technique'. In light of such expectations, how do the recent NME-endorsed 'Godlike Geniuses' live up to them?
Four years on from the FM rock of 2001's 'Get Ready' and we find the band going back to basics, Hooky rediscovering his bass (hint: did you try looking around your ankles mate?) and Bernard his voice, a pure choirboy confessional tone that can make even the most cringeworthy lyrics sound profound.
The album begins with 'Who's Joe', a solid opener reminiscent of 'Crystal', the stand out track on 'Get Ready' and the inspiration for The Killers (the video featured a fictional band by the name of ...yes, you've guessed it).
Not for the first time, you really can only marvel at the way in which the band make Peter Hook's bass the lead instrument as he stomps his way through the track. If there is a more distinctive sound in music then it is hard to think of it.
We head into straighter 'rock' territory with 'Hey Now What You Doing', seemingly a lecture on the dangers faced by the band's young pretenders and a moral lesson on how to cope with them. We then have the title track which along with first single 'Krafty' forms the peak of the album, future classics that display the band's habit of sounding like an old friend, someone you didn't realise how much you missed.
'I Told You So' provides something a little different, with a sample seemingly borrowed from a Caribbean radio station which bizarrely sounds like early 1990s euro-pop alsorans 'Ace Of Bass'. It's a cracking tune despite this and pays testament to the band's spirit of adventure that they still throw curveballs such as this.
There are of course a couple of tracks that slip by unnoticed, not necessarily poor, just relatively uneventful, until we reach 'Jetstream', featuring the Scissor Sisters' Ana Matronic. Based around a simple keyboard loop, it's another highlight and a pleasure to see such an iconic band involving the young upstarts trying to emulate it. The album ends with 'Turn', - sounding a little like The Smiths - and the rockabilly 'Working Overtime', which wouldn't have sounded out of place on Spiritualised's 'Let It All Come Down'.
If you are a fan of New Order you will like the majority of 'Waiting For The Sirens Call'. While not their best album, there is enough of what makes the band who they are to keep you happy. If you are a recent fan of the likes of Brandon Flowers and Bloc Party and wish to know what all the fuss is about then this will give you some idea, if not the full picture (get 'Substance' for that). And if you don't like the band, then you probably aren't reading this anyway.
Jeff Ando
Sound-Check Rating: 7
