New Order
Waiting For The Sirens' Call
Originally released: 2005 Warner Music Group
New Order have nothing to regret. If they'd broken up when Ian Curtis died, they'd still be remembered as Joy Division. If they'd broken up after the 1982 single "Temptation," they'd be remembered for the most achingly emotional seven-and-a-half-minute New Wave disco twelve-inch of all time. If they'd broken up after Low-life, in 1985, they'd be remembered for the most influential electro-vampire post-punk limp-wristed goth-twit album of the Eighties. But they didn't break up. They just keep making brilliant new records and inspiring brilliant new bands, such as the Killers, Bloc Party and Interpol.
They took a break in the 1990s, cleansing their systems of toxic chemicals and even fuglier side projects. (Revenge? Electronic? Monaco? Jesus!) If their 2001 Get Ready was a toe-dip return, Waiting for the Sirens' Call is their best since Technique, taking the "Blue Monday" beat into new wacked-out realms.
Bernard Sumner still sings and strums with his boyish air of distractable pique, and he writes some of the most genius crap lyrics around ("The world is a beautiful place/With mountains, lakes and the human race"). His secret is his sincerity, the way he whoops and yelps through blood-curdling poetry that a more clever singer would shame himself trying to play straight. But he'd be nowhere without Peter Hook, the Keith Richards of the bass, and drummer/pinup boy Stephen Morris. They outdo themselves with the sleek pop uplift of "Krafty," the robot clank of "I Told You So," the moody shimmer of "Turn" and the towering title track. Every song is great, except the one called "Dracula's Castle." What more could a fan ask?
