At least you can never say that Bernard Sumner ever really put his feet up for an extended retirement. With around 17 albums of original material over the past thirty years (and more if you count the numerous odds and ends of the discography and compilations), the problem here is that Bernard is a musician, and he makes music without necessarily considering the internal editor – mistaking saying something with having something to say.
“Never Cry Another Tear” sounds exactly how you fear and hope it sounds at exactly the same time – in one way, Bad Lieutenant sound just like New Order without the bassist. But also, Bad Lieutenant are missing the elusive, invisible magic chemistry that made New Order more than the sum of the parts : oil and water separate, and oil and fire explode. There's promise, talent and good songs, but that isn't enough on it's own. A great band needs something more.
Overall, Bad Lieutenant, made of Bernard Sumner (New Order, Joy Division, Electronic), Stephen Morris (New Order, Joy Division, the woefully underrecognised The Other Two, who is also mysteriously absent from the 'official' promo photographs but all over the record and the live shows), Phil Cunningham of the latter period New Order and, um, Marion, alongside two new Sleeperblokes, are a strange band. Quite how Bernard's bandmate and equal of the past thirty three years became an anonymous session musician at the back is baffling to me. Even though he doesn't play on every song on the record due to family illness, this is no need or reason to relegate the human metronome that is Stephen Morris to a bit part. This is, of course, no debut album, but a continuation of a previous existence in a new phase.
In short, they sound like a bunch of Electronic album tracks with the tempo dialled down slightly. The compelling dynamic of pacey rhythms, the driving bass, and the intricately simple electronics that underpinned the best of New Order's material are all absent here. Listening to it, and maybe this is because I spent too long listening to Joy Division/New Order, I can hear the bars where Hooky would fill the gaps in the sound with warm, familiar bass tones. Here there's no such comfort, just a slight emptiness, a space where the mysterious X factor should be. There's nothing here as great and immortal, as goddamn breathtakingly thrilling on first listen as “True Faith”, “Regret”, “Crystal”, “Temptation”, “The Perfect Kiss” or even “Round & Round”. At it's best, Bad Lieutenant's best song is about equal to a good New Order song from their latter years ; “Krafty” or “Times' Change”.
Is it a bad record? Well,no, not at all. At best it has moments of being pretty good – resembling some elements of New Order's maudlin and under-valued “Republic” : with dramatic keyboard stabs of tension and release, adding a much needed vitality to the musical palette. “Dynamo”, the terrific “Poisonous Intent” which races with the kind of vague menace that populated “Get Ready”, and the superior “Sink Or Swim” would all sit comfortably on a New Order record. But there's not enough here to make me whole-heartedly recommend this. “This Is Home” and “Shine Like The Sun”, both of which prominently feature the new vocalist Jake Evans, sit uncomfortably with these ears : the voice is unfamiliar, and also not quite strong enough to suggest taking a lead.
Great singers, as soon as they open their mouths, you can hear the timbre of, the quality of the voice, and know that that sound is THEM. A voice with personality is rare, and distinctive, the signature stamp of the band, and this new guy, well, he can sing, but he isn't a great lead vocalist : he can write songs, sing them, and do so well and with talent, but the voice isn't compelling to me.
It doesn't help that “Summer Days On Holiday” opening thirty seconds are, note for note, “I Am The Resurrection”. And “Running Out Of Luck” sounds oddly like Electronic's “Warning Sign” or “A New Religion”, that is, a pedestrian b-side that would not have seen a previous album.
What I did not want to do, and cannot in all conscience do, is damn this record and judge it on its weakest parts. It is occasionally maudlin, dull, unmemorable, but often it is fun, compelling, and vibrant. I'm sure that soon, and in time, the record will grow on me, and perhaps reveal previously obscure intricacies and textures. But I'm not counting on it now. In all honesty, I suspect this will be a record I return to rarely in the future. For now, it is an interesting diversion, that promises more than it delivers. Maybe soon Bad Lieutenant will master the art of the album. These are the baby steps, and, as many debuts prove, it is what follows that is the main event.
http://lifeonplanetme.blogspot.com/2009/09/bad-lieutenant-never-cry-another-tear.html
