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Low-Life
New Order
1985
Wikipedia
Reviews
Like a review? Give it a thumb up to help us display relevant reviews!Highlights: The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise, Sooner Than You Think, Sub-Cultures Oh sure, you can think of New Order as the "Bizarre Love Triangle" band, but did you know they have other songs?! Low-Life is so much more than what you'd expect from the legacy of Joy Division and pioneers of New Wave; It's perfectly crafted in every way. It opens with standard New Order fare with Love Vigilantes progresses into an evolution of lush synth goodness with The Perfect Kiss (or Bizarre Love Triangle Evolved)...Then crests with Sunrise, a surprising and excellent rock/synth power ballad. Sooner Than You Think floats in the middle of the b-side in a dreamy, atmospheric ghostlike presence. The layered tapestry of Sub-Culture diverges and peaks at chaos (the good kind), then immediately ties everything up in a immaculate bow. Face Up closes out with callout to previous efforts, and I imagine is there to remind us at the end, we're still listening to New Order. This is a fantastic album.
Elegia was especially beautiful and I think a fitting tribute to Ian Curtis. A very melancholy synth-pop bit of brilliance. I knew I was going to really enjoy this album, so I was struggling between 4 and 5. 4.5 if possible. Def worth a re-listen!
An album that doesn't really have any of the hits and is all the better for it. New Order's most cohesive and coherent album by far.
I've listened to PC&L over a dozen times (one of my favorite albums of all time), but this is my first time listening to Low-Life. Each time I listen, it gets better and better. This album marks a gradual shift from New Wave towards dance-pop through the increased use of synth and less reliance on punk. These 8 tracks are absolute bangers. The first and last tracks are slightly weaker and almost deter from a perfect score. But the rest of the tracks are at least near masterpieces. Love the vocals and synth effects. Their music always gets me moving around and grooving the unique sound that influenced much of synthpop to come.
10/10 It’s tragic hearing Joy Division without Ian Curtis, but I think Gillian Gilbert was able to move everything to it’s fullest potential. Joy Division always sounded their best when they harnessed synths, I just really wish we could get Ian Curtis’ beautiful vocals and lyricism for New Order. Despite that, this album is still INCREDIBLE. I love the gritty edge of Joy Division put in a Techno-pop dance style. It’s perfect music to jam to, whether to get hyped up (like Sub-Culture) or to get in a more dark mood (like Elegia) Again in a perfect world, we would have Ian Curtis on this but of course, it’s tragically impossible so I have to see it for everything else that makes this album amazing. One of my favorite albums.
I love this album. It's one of my favorites of that era. It got endless play in my house when I was a teenager and it's one I never tired of over the years. I think it's probably the first New Order album I had ever heard, so I have a special sentimentality for it. New Order made several terrific albums in the 80s, beautifully crafted collections of unique songs that were eminently listenable, front to back. No bad tracks. Low-Life is just one of those albums. It's full of gorgeously layered electronic arrangements, elevated by Peter Hook's guitar in a way other synth-based bands could never really touch. Bernard Sumner's slightly strained vocal style may be grating to some listeners, but we always liked it for that reason. It added a little texture to an otherwise pretty polished sound. Sumner never tried to be Ian Curtis. He knew his limits as a vocalist and kind of leaned into them, which I can appreciate. The album's only weak spot would be in the lyrics, which always seemed like a bit of an afterthought. This is the case with a lot of music in this genre. Bonus points for showing a sense of humor by adding the “frogs” to “Perfect Kiss.” Fave Songs (all songs, from most to least favorite): The Perfect Kiss, Love Vigilantes, Sub-Culture, Elegia, Sunrise, Face Up, Sooner Than You Think, This Time of Night
80's synth pop with an undercurrent of darkness and academic post-punk--ya know, New Order's whole thing.
Some of you may have already read my story about Peter Hook's impressive pissing stream leading to me killing a stripper on another New Order review. Well, I have one more thing to add to that - that stripper was my own daughter. MY OWN DAUGHTER!
...apparently I had no idea about what New Order actually were. I was most definitely not expecting this to start off with a accessible *upbeat as hell* simple 80s pop rock song - what!? As an 80s rocker kid I avoided New Order because I thought "ick - no guitars or "real" drums but all moody electronic synths??" (n.b. which I would likely love now) but "Love Vigilantes" seems like it could have been something from Big Country or The Alarm. And to be sure the album soon covers moody-synth territory, with heavily layered sequencers moving right in on the second cut but I definitely have a new-found appreciation for the music - it's far more complex and deep than I would have imagined. Yet there's a peculiar mix of styles on this album - just when it seems to be settling into this sequenced new wave we get something like "Sunrise" which is just a killer rock track. I do find some of the instrumentation or mix ... weird (e.g. on "This Time of Night" the overdubbed drum fills practically coat the song) on some of the colder songs but that's a retroactive-80s style thing I'm still not used to :D Overall though this was highly unexpected and is a pleasantly odd mix of synthy dark 80s dance tunes and up-tempo pop-rock songs. I'm glad to have listened to this - a keeper and not just as a timepiece for the era. 7/10 4 stars
i really liked “elegia” i thought it was different and really cool. other than that i liked the album but it wasn’t anything special
Well, it sounded like other rock from this time period. I didn't mind the sound or composition, but it wasn't memorable to me either. The lead singer's voice seemed to deteriorate over the course of the album, ending up with the last track being really uncomfortable to listen to.
This sounds pretty close to a guy singing karaoke at a bar after several drinks. He's not bad, per se, but it's just off enough to be jarring. The music itself is solid and well done, but the vocalist sounding like he's decided on a different key entirely is not a plus.
Big OOF, this album started out sounding rather generic then by the end it was hard to listen. I don't mind synth music, but nothing about this album is remarkable in anyway. Top 3: lol....
“Low-Life” by New Order (1985) First impression: extremely weak lead vocals, poorly recorded. Perfect mismatch between the message and musical settings. Lyrics are okay; music is terrible—a rare combination. Actually, by the end of the album I changed my mind. The lyrics are bad too. Their electronic/disco tracks are better suited to dancing than listening. Highly programmed, one can move the body without engaging the mind, while one’s soul is focused on the gyrations of one’s dance partner(s). Hope he/she/they are hot, cause the music’s not. God, these lead vocals are horrible. Words fail. By the middle of track four, I began looking for the cameras. I was sure I was being punked. 1/5
Surprisingly great, each song has something else that I liked about it, 80s pop with an edge
Holy crap these drums are so good. I'm starting to understand the obsession with that 80's sound but the drums stand out here.
I really liked. It's pretty much the same as The Cure or even The Smiths to me, but well, I really like those too.
Suuuuper 80s and a little emo. I like it a lot more than I was expecting to. Reminds me of some of that old emo punk like early Blink.
New Order's everyday and simple lyrics sometimes come in for criticism (because some people just can't accept when something is perfect). Yes they sing about often mundane and banal subject matter but it is transformed through the unbelievable music into a form of escape and transcendence.
I like New Order and own a compilation disc of their music and one of their 90s releases. I hadn’t listened to this album before. I had heard the first two songs before listening to this but was surprised to discover my favorite stuff in the tracks I had never heard before. Highlights: Love the beats and frogs and sheep and cowbells in “The Perfect Kiss”. The guitars were fantastic in “Sunrise.” Really love this song’s echos of punk music melded with 80s dance. Great song, great intensity! The synth and guitar instrumental “Elegia” was fantastic. Moody. Complex. Beautiful. “Sooner Than You Think” has such great lyrics. Love the music too, those guitars near the end are too good. “Sub-Culture” and “Face Up” seems to end the album on a note that sets a course toward New Order’s future albums. Great New Order album! Had my rating floating between 4 and 5, but “Sunrise” made this one easy to round up.
Ah, New Order. I never had this album, but I knew every song from various compilations, mix tapes, and an obsessed college roommate. Some of these I haven't heard in many years. Although I was a huge fan, I never learned the song titles very well, since they are never very well connected to the lyrics. Thus I didn't make connections later in the download age. Eighties British electronic dance music was my favorite in college, and New Order was right at the top. Although this would probably not be my favorite New Order album, I love it and I was happily brought back in time and I score it on that feeling.
Their very best. 8 perfect tracks on long play format, enjoy this from start to finish.
It's so much better than any Joy Division album. Been using "The Perfect Kiss" to test headphones for years now hahah And "Sunrise" was an unexpected banger. Minds of 99 has no doubt taken inspiration from these guys. Oh My God. "Elegia" is amazing. Holy shit I love this. 5
I was more familiar with Power, Corruption & Lies. This is a great followup. Moody synths, sort of dancey, not quite as hooky as Blue Monday. Just a great Friday listen.
There was a long time that New Order was a secret guilty pleasure band for me, and this record in particular because electronic/dance was most definitely not my scene. Love Vigilantes has always been a favorite, but damn, I like the dancy bits. Maybe me, but I hear a fair amount of “The Cure” sound in here too with the guitars.
Good-to-great. The original vocals on Sub-culture are so off-melody though - the remix cleans that up, at least. Sunrise/Elegia are the real highlights here.
Faktisk udmærket Brit-pop. Kunne egentlig godt blive ret fedt at høre på, men ørene mangler erfaring. Flere gode numre. Den får 4 fremskrivende stjerner
Liked it a lot but not really music to listen to at work. I like Joy Division and I can hear their roots sometimes
I enjoyed it a lot. I don't really listen to a lot of synth-pop, but this album, especially the second half sounded epic. Will definitely be turning it on for some laid-back listens. Favorite songs: Sunrise, Elegia, 6/8.
Liked it, but maybe needs another 2-3 listens. Subculture and This Time of Night were best.
A really fun and poppy (and 80s) album! This Aussie gives it four tins of Milo out of five.
Do like their combination of synths and guitars. Not my favorite album by them but their sound in general definitely works for me.
Beautiful album from a band I'd never heard of before. Absolutely get the connection to Joy Division. Elegia and Sub-Culture were particular favorites
I think I've heard a lot of songs from the album but have never listened to the album. A lot of the songs sound the same to me after a while but I like them.
I always liked Joy Division and I had something "against" New Order, but this album changed my mind. I need to go back and listen to them again. I know that this phase is not absolutely "synth" as the next albums, but it was a so good experience and I think that I'm able to give them another chance.
"My friend took his final breath Now I know the perfect kiss is the kiss of death" (The perfect kiss) "(Whatever you may think of me whatever you may say I've lived my whole life in danger, You've lived your life in hate)" (Sunrise)
New Order couldn’t do much wrong around this time, High Life is surrounded by other class albums and there isn’t much wrong here. Driving beats, lush synths & hooky’s basslines, so so good!
I was happy to see this album come up. I haven't listened to this album before, but I do like New Order. The first two tracks are the most familiar to me, and are tracks that I would listen to again. The album worked as a whole for me. I would give this album somewhere between 3.7 and 4.0 stars.
First song in and I'm really enjoying this sound so far. Kind of reminds me of an 80s Arcade Fire in a weird way. Yeah this is pretty lush for an 80s album. I think this is one of my favorite albums I've listened to on this list so far.
As usual this new order album sounds excellent, great songs, kind of lulls a bit in the middle, not their absolute best but it's better than most bands can do
The first half of this album is ok. The second half starts off with a beautiful composition followed by somewhat better songs. 4/5
I thought this was good. Vocals are a bit annoying. Sounded a bit the cure but otherwise good
Pretty cool, not every song blew me away but there’s tons of pretty unique concepts and sounds that fill a void in my 80s rock exposure that I didn’t know existed
Near perfect album by New Order. Peter Hook's bass is the star of this album and a very bright one at that
Saw these guys at my first Big Day Out in 2002. Joy Division lost their lead, but still flowered. Lower in a few new band mates, and keep going. Very easy to listen to
Not my favorite, stylistically mostly, but there are some bangers on here, can hear the influence on a ton of bands to come
Really enjoyed this album. Favorite tracks: Love Vigilantes (I think I've heard another version of this song, but not sure who it was) and Elegia (very nice, simple instrumental). The album doesn't blow me away (so not a 5), but I definitely liked it a lot.
This took a few listens to sink in. There's a lot going on here that's subtle and easy to miss at at first. Had a rated it on my first impression it might have gotten 2 or 3 stars but this album grows on you. Take the simplicity of Elegia, for example. There's a Philip Glass vibe to the track and I can hear how it might even have influenced the Hogarth era Marillion sound. Side one is the stronger side though with the final track on the side, Sunrise being the high point with ag good mix of new-wave and post-punk infused in one track.
Completely epitomizes 80's weird Brit rock (The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, etc.). That's not an insult, there's some good stuff in there. This album captures it perfectly. Despite the heavy synth in many songs, there's still some good musicianship (guitar better than you think on first listen). The songwriting is also sharp, from lyrics to arrangements. Love Vigilantes is my favorite and Sunrise is another song that nicely blends real and fake instruments. The Perfect Kiss (decent lyrics) and Sub-culture are decent but a bit synth-heavy (sounds hokey). Elegia (instrumental) is quite beautiful. Face Up was a fun end to the album (probably my second favorite track). I spent the day listening to New Order and this is definitely their best album. Not lower than 3.5 and I'll round up for their pioneering work.
Virkelig god blanding punk + rock med et snært af vanilje (techno) indover. Især sidste halvdel er god!
Given my musical tastes, it's no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this album. The strange thing about the rating I'm giving it is that I can't really think of a standout track, I just enjoyed the interesting synth work, breathy vocals, and absolute shredding by whoever is playing bass. I know that even for its time none of this was particularly new, but I do think this might be one of the earliest dance rock albums that actually holds together as a single record - hopefully we'll get dealt up some earlier ones so I can make a proper comparison :)
Not listened to a lot of Joy Division other than the hits, so wasn't sure what to think going into this. But really vibed with this album, absolutely would listen to it again, Elegia was a standout for me, change of pace and just up my alley completely. Nice short burst of 80's style music. 4/5.
An almost great album by New Order here. Was only faniliar with their singles and Joy Division so there was plenty of unheard material for me. Perfect Kiss (the 12 inch version) is my favourite song by them and though the album edit isn't as great, still fantastic. The album cuts were mostly great, with Sunrise and Sooner Than You Think being the highlights. The bass in this is phenomenal throughout. The synths and percussion are fantastic. The only thing not perfect in terms of the music is Bernard Sumner's vocals as it tends to be flat here and there. Also the closer Face Up can get pretty annoying.
Yeah, I like New Order, but I didn’t know this album. It was good, but maybe a little less dancy than I expected. Apparently this was the first album with the identity as “dance”. I didn’t know any of the tracks, but could hear hints of some of the tracks I do know. There are some catchy musical moments in these early works.
Užasan cover odmah da budemo jasni, dosta mi to ipak znači hoću neki album poslušat prije nekog albuma u dotičnoj diskografiji. Drago mi je da je album bolji od covera koji ga predstavlja, ritmičan je kao i većina njihovih stvari, nekako možda pozitivnije zvuče na ovom albumu, ali uvijek će imati taj mali dio, taj ritam koji će me uvijek podsjećati na Joy Divison (nije to nimalo loše, zašto i ne bi podsjećali?). Također i na The Cure. The Perfect Kiss je najbolja na albumu, a općenito mi se dvije pjesme nisu baš dojmile, ovo ostalo sve dobro. Nije čvrsta četvorka, ali ne mogu dati trojku ovom.
This is not my kind of favorite music, but this album is excellent! The lyrics are very interesting !
álbum dançante. duas misturas: rock e dançante, preferi a metade dançante. queria ir na balada nos EUA nos anos 80 para ouvir isso.
An unrelenting bop fest from start to finish (apart from Elegia, a tribute to the late Ian Curtis). To those who say that this was the first proper New Order album whereas the first two were a collection of singles: I have to agree. The tracklist makes for a cohesive experience and everything clicks in the long run. Great album.
This album is fantastic, it is catchy, danceable, fun, but also kinda melancholic, wich creates a bittersweet vibe that I deeply love. New Order was formed by the remaining members of Joy Division and I think it really shows because, to me, they sound like a happier version of Joy Divison.
After reading the description on Wikipedia I really didn't expect to like this, but I ended up enjoying it and it didn't even feel as long as it is. 3.5/5
Listen to this a lot when it was released. Some brilliant tracks but one or two that stop it being a full 5.
I really enjoyed this album, it is really engaging and I especially liked 'Elegia'. Will definitly listen again.
I have an appreciation for this music. Love Vigilantes is like new wave Springsteen. The drum drives it - the simple instrumentation and clear vocals command your attention and it articulates a slice of tragedy for the common man. I just hope the rest of the album can maintain the greatness of that first track. So far so good...Perfect Kiss is an excellent more upbeat follow up for track 2! This Time of Night is pretty solid as well - Drugs? Love? Who knows. Three songs, three different subject matters, and three different tones, which is not a bad thing. Sunrise kicks into gear and is all kinds of The Cure. It's a heavy one - about loss, or doubt or something. Even though Love Vigilantes is 1000 times more tragic or sad than this song should be, there's something more personal here. This song then leads into the lyric-less Elegia, which feels like part 2 of the previous song - I see now that New Order formed out of Joy Division after the lead singer died, so this must be for him? This song kind of brings down the listenability though - it stops the flow in terms of a full-album re-listenable experience. Subculture and Sooner than you Think are a little sub par and while Face Up is decent, the album starts with a roar and goes out with a whimper. Still I'm a fan overall!
As much as there is to like, New Order records never quite live up to the promise offered by the many, many great hooks. Relatedly, their completely distinct sound is a plus, but too many songs sound like nothing so much as – wait for it – other New Order songs. Self-referential or just same-y? There are other issues, too – e.g., the jarring shift in tone after the great opener. “Love Vigilantes” feels like it belongs to a different record. A few too many light and synthetic-sounding synths, quite a few that haven’t survived too well across the decades. Peter Hook’s epic bass-ing only redeems some the tracks and Sumner’s earnest-plaintive vocals fully hit on just more than half of the songs. When it all works, it works very well, but that’s not often enough to sustain the occasional and fleeing transcendence. 3.7.
This album, along with Power Corruption and Lies is peak New Order. By their third album they've made a complete and smooth transition from dark, post-punk to producing perhaps the best dance music ever released in the mid-eighties. There are some real classics here and that despite having some dated 80's hooks and motifs, it still holds up remarkably well. In particular The Perfect Kiss is indeed a perfect dance song for a nice summer day. Love Vigilantes and Sooner than you think are also very strong tracks.
This is the sort of thing I liked to dance to in the mid-eighties. Catchy and accessible, a bit dark with some slower moody pieces. The “hits” (Love Vigilantes, Perfect Kiss, Sub-Culture) tend to have a similar sound, but that’s okay. They’re not Joy Division, but that’s okay.
Wikipedia tells me this was New Order's transitional album, and that makes sense - some tracks they sound like The Cure, others they sound like the electronic New Order I'm more familiar with. The vocals are distinctly ropey in places, and I was leaning towards a 3 star review, but damn "Elegia" is a great track (I'm talking about the 17.5 minute version on the bonus disc - cracking stuff!) and after a second listen, everything grew on me. Fave track - "Elegia" as mentioned. The loooooooong version please! 🙏
Of all the 80s New Wave thats come up on this list, this is the first album I've enjoyed. It starts strong with a very upbeat tune and keeps the energy going for most of the album. A couple of songs didn't catch my interest as well as the first ones, and there's some moments in the album where the singers voice just gives out, but overall this was a fun album that I'd definitely listen to again. Also after it finished Spotify played the love triangle song and it all clicked.
Another album that was new to me. I knew of New Order but not familiar with this album at all. It's very good, the synths work, the moody atmosphere is good. Not an absolute favorite though.
One of the bands I secretly liked in High school since it wasn't cool for a Metal head to listen to them. They migrated from the darker sounds of Joy Division to a more blend of guitar oriented rock with synthesizers, which I like as well. The song Sunrise is suck a killer tune and one of my favorites.
Love Vigilantes is an amazing album opener. It sets the tone for New Order to take the wheel and drive you straight to the crescendo of their post-Joy Division glory. Solid album.
As good as this type of dance-plus music can be. It's a little angsty, as if we're dancing to forget and be free of the pain. The bass lines and epic and most of the synth hooks hold up. It gets a bit same-y toward the back.
Dancey. I kind of preferred them when they had a more post-punk influence. Still, this is inoffensive and catchy. Favorite track: "The Perfect Kiss"
Even though I did not know a single song on the album beforehand, it was a very pleasant listen. A nice balance between high energy (almost disco) vibes and ambient synth, this must be one of my favorite new wave albums.
Jangly electronic rock. I went into this blind, knowing Blue Monday but very little else. It was fun, and I can see why this is an important album, but I wasn't in the right mood for it.
There's probably some chance I've heard some of these songs before but I don't really remember it. Kind of sad to not see some of there more popular songs on here. Some of these sound a lot like Tears for Fears.
Heard a few of the tracks before "Love Vigilantes" and "Elegia". Beyond those two, doesn't do a ton for me. Not bad though.
Was not expecting to recognize a song right of the bat - I think I actually know "Love Vigilantes" not from this original version but from the Iron & Wine cover. Found my head bobbing to "This Time of Night." Overall it was somewhat forgettable, one I likely won't come back to. But I liked it more than I thought I would.
This feels pure 80's. It's a good album, very pop-rock, slightly punk. A near danceable album that makes me think of what the 80's must have felt like to those who lived through it. Not necessarily something I'll be coming back to, but a good listen regardless. True feeling: 2.8/5
Surprisingly relaxing, I think this a good background music album. I might start listening to this as my "I need to work and focus" music!
I like new order, I really do. But aside from Love Vigilantes this album doesn't have much standout material. I kept wishing I was listening to Power, Corruption and Lies. The new wave is strong with these men. The Synths are quite dated but there's a lot to like here.
This is a fun listening! I doubt that I will remember a single song after listening (maybe some of the rhythms) but it's nonetheless a joyful ride with this album. 3/5, would recommend and listen to it again, although not very memorable, yet!
Whereas Technique felt like something refreshing and new, this album is just "What if we were The Cure?" I love The Cure, so I didn't hate this. But The Cure does it better.
Nothing I haven’t heard from the 80s before. I need to hear their earlier albums to give it more value than what I heard today from this album.
Había oído canciones sueltas pero no todo el album seguido. Me ha gustado por las partes que me suenan más a Joy Division. Y lo cierto es que se nota su influencia en muchos grupos posteriores.
I fall asleep and dream an endless 1980's karate movie montage. John Hughes is my dad and Molly Ringwald is doing that thing with her nose. Five Stars.
I never realised before this list how hit and miss new order can be. I always thought I was a fan, but it turns out I'm a bit of a greatest hits kinda guy. Anyway some good some turd. It's aged better than the super 90s stuff.
My expectations for this we're not very high. However I enjoyed it more than not. Some really nice guitar sounds in there.
Not the New Order album I wanted or needed sadly. Some of the songs were kind of catchy, but overall I just wanted to listen to the classics off their other albums. The lyrics seemed challenged. I would have liked this album more if it was just instrumental like, Elegia, probably my favorite track. I like the later half of the album more than the beginning. I had heard Love Vigilantes a lot in the past and always thought it was an okay staple. The last song on the album, Face Up, reminded me too much of Temptation, a far better song.
Sehr unspeziefisch, aber gut genug/spezifisch genug um beim radfahren in Tunnel zukommen. Macht gute laune
Good stuff. Not my typical preference but can see how this was probably influential and inspiring for early alternative and electronic scene.
Never given New Order a listen, but always loved Joy Division so high hopes. UPDATE: Elegia fucking rocks! It's like a cut from the Halloween soundtrack!
A lot of songs sound like generic 80s songs. It's like "Just like heaven" from The Cure looped for an hour. Only exception: Sunrise (electric guitar progression in the middle) and Elegia has also a nice Once Upon a Time in the West feel to it.
It was fine. I kinda prefer when synth pop leans more into the synths, but this is not bad. Just didn’t leave a huge impression.
Not bad. Definitely has a solid synth trend throughout the album. Feels very much what I think of as 80’s New Age music.
Only familiar with work from the nineties. Liked this album, but probably won't seek it out
Pretty neat time for this album to come up actually. I listened to a podcast recently on Joy Division. (no dogs in space. they do a good write up and touched on New order a bit.) But man I am a big Joy division and while I really miss Ian. New order just meshes this melancholy feeling with a real need to dance. It's so fucking good man.
I never got too into New Order, despite them being hugely influential to many bands that I love and I wouldn't ever discount the importance they and Joy Division had on music on a broad scale.. So, this album might land better with me, if I had a history and nostalgia attached to it? The first track Love Vigilantes hits like a ton of bricks and is fantastic, but after that it's just meh, for me. Not terrible but nothing I feel I'd need to revisit often.
Yeah, I was not really big into this style: New Order, The Cure, Joy Division... I do like a lot of punk. A good deal of it. This is not the kind I enjoy it. It's very flat for me,I don't know. It just doesn't hit me emotionally. I mean, it's well-crafted, but just... not for me.
I recognized one song. It is definitely an 80s album. I doubt I will listen to it again.
Whistled a wicked air guitar solo to the breakdown in Sunrise, felt great. Anyone else do that thing of improvising little lead lines by whistling? I don't really know what sort of music this is - new wave, maybe? I feel like if I say 'oh cool it's like if vaporwave had lyrics and pop song structures' but I feel like that's ass-backwards.
Wyspiarze i lata 80, to iscie niebianskie polaczenie jak pokazuja staty zarowno dekadowe jak i gatunkowe, bo twardym orzechem do zgryzienia jest segregacja gatunkowa tej plyty, po pierwszym traku bylem mile zaskoczony, ze uslysze cos z prawdziwymi instrumentami i liryka glebsza niz na potancowke, bo otwierajacy love vigilantes sprawia wlasnie takie wrazenie, ten gitarkowy riff nie daje mi spokoju, bo skads go powinienem znac, ale nie moge skojarzyc, warta uwagi jest takze praca jaka robi na basie pan Peter Hook, a na gitarce frontmen zespolu Bernard Sumner, caly sklad skladal sie z 4 czlonkow w czasie nagrywania tej plyty, bedacej trzecim w ich dyskografii, dodatkowymi czlonkami sa Stephen Morris od perkusyjnych instrumentow i synthow oraz Gillian Gilbert dodatkowa gitara i wspacie synthowe, wiec jak nie trudno sie domyslic kolejne kawalki juz troche tego synthowego brzmienia beda przemycaly przez co podchodzi tutaj bardziej synth popem typowo tanecznym, wiec album ma swoje chwile, ale czasami jest zbyt syntetyczny jak na moje uszaki, jestem pozytywnie zaskoczony panem wokalista, ktory sprawia wrazenie charyzmatycznego wokalisty, a o zespole slysze pierwszy raz, moze bedzie kiedys okazja sprawdzic reszte dyskografii, jesli maja wiecej takich gemow jak trak otwierajacy czy sub-culture, ktore leca na plejke, ktos moglby powiedziec, ze te traki brzmia troche banalnie, ale jestem fanem takich prostych, a jednoczesnie autentycznych tekstow
This is fine. Tolerable. But if I were dating someone and they said this is their favorite album, I'd probably break up with them because we wouldn't understand each other emotionally. This album isn't bad but I find it uninspiring.
I like New Order, and this is New Order. Most of it seems kinda gothic and synthy, which is fine. Face Up is happier, even poppy. I think I kinda prefer the 1983 album before this, and the 1987 one after it, but this is fine.
Nice - very The Cure like and finally a full album by new order that I warmed up to fully
Volim ih općenito i taj njihov sythpop zvuk je iconic ali ovaj album mi nije bio nešto. Zadnje dve pjesme su mi dosta lose, pogotovo subculture di su mu vokali ko zvuk iz samog pakla.
Nothing really great here. First two songs are very good the rest did little to make me want to hear this album again. It's a good album but doesn't have anything to make irise to greatness. 3.5 🌟
New Order are great. Their use of synth combined with great bass playing defined an era. Sadly, they aren't great songwriters or singers. This album has some real highlights, but let down by some drab songwriting
This is 4 star music paired with a 2 star voice. The lead singer’s voice sounds very thin. Love Vigilantes and Sunrise are my favorite songs.
Love Vigilantes sounds like a cover that I'm more familiar with. Maybe they did a harder version of this(?) I listened to the remastered version, so I suppose there's some alt versions out there. I'm not a fan of the electric piano and synthesizer doinks on songs like The Perfect Kiss and Face Up, but I really love the low flung guitar that eases in on Sunrise. Elegia is really Cure-ish instrumental, it's ethereal yet impending that builds over time. New Order fits into the category of Pet Shop Boys (not a fan), Depeche Mode (really not a fan) and the Cure (sometimes a fan). To describe the genre in 90's terms, this would be indy college rock. Definitely not mainstream but really cool and new music if you appreciated an alternative scene. In today's standards, it's decent, not Depeche Mode and not The Cure.
This got better as it went on, standout track was Elegia for me, possibly due to a lack of awful vocals.
Pretty unremarkable but not bad. Know some other New Order stuff but this was all new to me I think. 3.5
It's new wave. I've heard worse, and I've heard better. I liked that doing from Stanger Things tho, Elegia.
Je suis très ambivalent sur ce groupe! Boîte à rythmes énergiques, riffs accrocheurs, bonnes tounes... mais un chanteur qui cherche sa note, quelques facilités...
i wasn't into this album until i heard "elegia." that's the standout of this album. deep, beautiful, eerie. a nice tribute in their friend's memory. i like this album, and it's very of the time! synth eighties. it's a good listen, but i don't think it stands as i thought it would. it can be a little forgettable, but some of the instrumentation is top notch. "sunrise" and of course "elegia" stand out in that regard.
Some good poppy stuff on here, offsets the proto-electronic stuff that I'm not a big fan of.
I was today years old when I learned that one of my favorite Iron & Wine songs is a New Order cover
Seems like another Talking Heads wannabe. So many average bands with MIDI drums and semi-edgy lyrics. Not super impressed.
Fairly generic 80s synth music for the most part. Boring to me overall. "Sunrise" and "Elegia" were surprises though, both solid songs. Sunrise had a stronger backbone throughout the song, and Elegia was a dark and interesting instrumental. Vocals were probably the weakest part - way too soft and crooning.
Hi ha un grapat de cançons de New Order que formen part de la meva vida, les més conegudes, imagino que com a molta gent li passa. He agafat aquest disc amb ganes, la primera cançó m'ha entrat molt bé. Però després ha anat caient i caient i se m'ha fet pesat. Potser un dia li dono una altra oportunitat, però en general l'experiència ha estat decebedora.
This album started out as somewhat bearable but then got worse and worse from there. I tried listening twice. I don’t think I got past the 6th song.
Tbh, not nearly as good as I thought it would be. Lacked any substance to me. Some were alright but overall quite underwhelming on the whole.
Bernard Sumner's voice left a lot to be desired. Not too sure if it was the production that hampered it, but it felt very whiny to me. I did enjoy the instrumentals on all of the tracks particularly Elegia. They have a very distinctive 80s sound, with their use of synths throughout. Best: Elegia Worst: Face Up 2.5 Stars
This was a pretty boring album with the same melodies in most of the songs. Very synth-pop and very 80s so not really my cup of tea. One song was kind of... not bad.
Not my case. Only reason this has two stars is because "Elegia" wasn't half bad actually
This was a weird one, an album of extremes. The tracks I liked I really liked, the ones I didn't the opposite. Sadly, the latter had the majority.
Love Vigilantes - nicht meins The Perfect Kiss - Disco - gute Bassline am Ende This Time of Night - Dark - nice! Sunrise - OK, plätzschert im Hintergrund vor sich hin Elegia - very nice! Sooner Than you think - OK Sub-Culture - Cool, aber Gessang schlecht! Face Up - Nööö. 2/5
This is bland english dance pop right in the front. Face Up was probably the only track that I found interesting.
Thankfully this was a short album. I enjoyed the audio only track the most. The rest was just not interesting at all.
This would be an easy 3/5, the tunes are kinda easily-digestible 80s new wave/synthpop and some of the melodies are pleasant... but the singer is terrible. wtf? he's completely out of key and then makes it worse by being whiny as well. It's actually pretty baffling just how bad the singing is. How on earth did this band ever see success with a singer THIS AWFUL? I thought I'd just get over it for the space of this album, but after about 3 songs I started to struggle. It's a shame, because in theory I should like this a lot more. 2/5.
The synth / high male vocal combo that typifies a lot of 80’s pop is here in spades, with relatively little to differentiate itself from the pack.
This album didn't really strike anything with or in me. It was okay, but I was ultimately pretty underwhelmed. The one track that piqued my interest was the instrumental track, Elegia. It was such an odd but great inclusion that really highlighted and brought to light the dark wave qualities on this album.
Just a laughably bad album. No notable songs and better singing could be found in the NYC subway. Also, sounded like the album was jumped around genres? 2/10.
Decent.
First impression is overall very disjointed from track to track, and felt like it was trying to do too much at once. It opened with a Madchester sound, then moved into some dance tracks with an attempt a crooning vocals that were really more cawing. then some brooding dance tracks, upbeat post-punk jangle, instrumental intermission, then more dance-y wailing stuff. *Also, for a 2015 remaster the production quality seemed lower than I would have expected.
A classic.