Low-Life

Too much synth for me

This was a banger. Intro track was fire, so was the rest of the album

It's no Technique...

Not for me

Great midpoint album in the band's career. The synth dance is clearer than ever but still driven by Hooky's brilliant atmospheric bass lines.

Ok New Wave...nothing offensive but nothing exciting

1.Love vigilantes=7/10 2.The Perfect kiss=8/10 3.This time of night=7/10 4.Sunrise=7/10 5.Elegia=6/10 6.Sooner than you think=8/10 7.Sub-culture=7/10 8.Face up=8/10 Overall:7.5/10

Lots of creativity here, and a few solid tracks, but the vocals are pretty bad and it feels a little dated. Enjoyable enough, but I can't imagine being in a mood where I wouldn't prefer to listen to Depeche Mode.

( My notes weren't saved :( ) I wasn't very into the first half of the album, mainly because of the vocals. "Elegia" was a high point of the album, very different from the rest and fully instrumental. Even though "Sooner than you think" and "Sub-Culture" had vocals again, they seemed to fit in those songs much better than the earlier ones. I remember "Sub-Culture" being sorta weird but in a good way. Unfortunately, the last song fell back into the same pitfalls as the first half. But to be clear, even the songs that I didn't like as much weren't that bad, some of them still had very nice instrumentals, and the vocals, while not to my taste, weren't horribly off-putting, so I'm giving this 3/5

Low-Life didn’t leave as strong an impression on me as Power, Corruption & Lies, which I still prefer. Bernard Sumner’s vocals aren’t really my thing, but they feel like part of New Order’s character.

very cool and experimental but not really my vibe. i liked the frog noises in the perfect kiss

I've always thought that New Order is very similar to Joy Division in style. Okay, so now I'm 31 and I'm figuring out that it's basically one group, but without the lead singer Ian Curtis. Very solid piece of music, not my favorite album though. I love electronic and pop sound.

One of my favourite New Order albums. Amazing production. Favourite Track - Sunrise 8/10

Was definitely a fan of the instrumentation and catchy melodies but man the vocals were really hard for me to get over

82

Not a fan of alternative dance. Bernard Sumner’s voice is cringe-worthy.

Oh look, another sub par album from a British artist on this list.

"Elegia" - clocked it immediately from Pretty in Pink, had to look up to verify and learned the beautiful story about it's origin and meaning (tribute to Ian Curtis from Joy Division). Nice album, only song other than Elegia that I even somewhat recognized was Love Vigilantes. I wasn't cool enough to listen to New Order when they came out because I was too damn concerned with blending in. Even with my passing knowledge of NO, definitely would be able to identify the band as soon as the album started playing.

Low-life is a bit harsh. Low-enjoyment seems a good alternative title.

Easy listen. Dips a little in the middle energy wise, but overall a snapshot of its time.

Vocals and lyrics are absolutely shit, not much better than Joy Division 🤢

Great album, lovely sound, great vocals, found it did drag towards the end but had fun listening

Fav track: sunrise I haven’t heard this album by new order before so it was nice to hear something new!

Alright

Classic but felt a bit dated (obviously)

Some great tracks, didn't like the vocals.

I’m a big fan of New Order & synth pop in general. This album made me want to dance with my friends. Rating it 5 stars for Elegia alone. It sounds like something straight out of a video game or Interstellar. I want to listen to it on repeat.

got the signature new Order sound. Bernard is still getting to grips with being a vocalist by the sounds of some of the tracks

Great vibes, memorable melodies

Cool but also not great

I love 80s post-punk, I love new wave, I love a darker atmosphere but something I can still dance to. This was great for me!

some very good parts, some very meh parts. Generally good for background-music.

Just not into the 80's aesthetic really.

Pretty good! You can definitely hear the mid-'80s of it, and honestly I didn't like the singer's voice that much, but it was pretty good anyway.

fire flames

This was too depressing for me all. All this downtrodden 80s music is not my thing.

Not the biggest new wave guy. Certainly not a post punk fan given what’s been on this list so far, but this was good enough. Felt like music for sad 80’s loner kids. 2.5⭐️

I liked it...I don't know the timeline of these English bands but it sounds like a less goth-y Cure and reminds me of the Smiths. These blokes had a good sound back then.

I just coundt stand for the whole album. I like post-punk in general, but new order never caught me.

There's a couple of interesting tracks on this but I didn't vibe with it at all. It's probably a worthwhile listen but I didn't feel like it pushed any boundaries either.

It was interesting. I liked some of the songs but a lot of them felt dated. This is the type of music my parents would've listened to when they were my age, and it's interesting to think about it from their perspective.

An Album that shaped my youth

Sunrise 👍🏻 Rest of album… not my favorite New Order.

I don't think there's a bad song on this album. The Perfect Kiss might be my standout track, but I literally think they're all good. This tracklist is so fucking tight. 5 Stars easily.

Decent enough - I thought that musically it was pretty interesting and maybe marred a bit by a vocal performance that just didn't quite work for me.

Didn’t listen to it fully but I like it

Fantastic album, great discovery

Quick review this as I’m away on holiday. Listened to the album on way to destination on CarPlay along with Christmas carols playlist. Which did I enjoy most? Well only 8 days to the big day when I hope Santa has not left this album in my stocking. Whilst I do like quite a few New Order songs I am still bewildered how they morphed from a unique and valued band like Joy Division into an electro dance band. Seems that millions did appreciate this radical change of direction but very much like Peter Hook I sought pastures new. 3/5 17/12/25

Monotonous and trivial.

it's a very pretty album but that's really all the compliments i can give. instantly forgettable and i didn't like the vocals at all

The leaning into the new wave elements in this album works a lot better than what similar post-punk bands achieve. His voice matches the sound of the instrumentation, but this album is not really that special.

sin más

Again it’s ok some of the first songs are ok to listen to the others not too much of maybe it’s just I can’t listen to this type of music in the morning 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

This genre doesn't do it for me.

My belief is starting to solidify that new wave is an uninteresting genre.

Love Vigilantes is a classic. Later songs on the album were good but didn't grab me as firmly. I'm surprised how much their sound was like The Cure in this album, it's not what I think of for New Order. It's like, but I'm not in love. Low 3, up from 2 mostly because of my enjoyment of The Cure.

Some stuff by New Order / Joy Division is quite good, and some is crap. This one sounds like a merge of The Cure and the older New Order stuff. Not bad, but nothing overwhelming.

Lowpoints are way too busy for my liking (Perfect Kiss, Sub-Culture, Face Up) but the highs are so cathartic. Sunrise and Sooner Than You Think are elite.

I like it.. need it give it another go. Could be a four star album.

Really enjoyed this one and it’s dark synth-alt pop makeup. Sub-culture was my top track which was followed by face-up, my least favorite track. The lyricism and poignant themes stuck out to me the most and connected me with album.

I remember this being better than it was. Peter Hook's bass leads are awesome. Liked Songs Added: Love Vigilantes Perfect Kiss

Unknown band for me. Not a bad sound. Good album.

It’s Duran Duran but some years late, and with less quality.

Is this the cure? Or are the cure new order? 🧐

This one didn't give me any emotion

One of my favourite albums of all times

this is the 80s in any cliché depiction. picture yuppies in oversized waistcoats shaking their arms from side to side under a disco ball and colorful lights to synth beats.

This album is like Disintegration but better. I guess Disintegration is Low-Life but not as good since it came out 4 years later, but that's besides the point. It's just really good Pop music, that's the point. I really like the instrumentals. I feel like "gothic" is the word I'm looking for to describe them, but something about it feels different from the notably very gothic synth-heavy bands from the same decade, especially with Elegia. I feel like the album trails off a bit after Elegia and generally I wish there would be more songs like Love Vigilantes that get away from the same kind of breakup lyrics, but it's still better than Disintegration, so it's pretty good.

i'd take them over joy division most days as i am not a nihilist, but not all days as i do get sad sometimes. the frog noises on Perfect Kiss cheer me up. i used to have a copy of this record with the nice obi. not sure where that went. i also have fond memories of listening to Brotherhood on my walkman. both good records, but their defining document is the Substance comp of 12" mixes.

I really want to love New Order. I love Joy Division. I love post-punk, new wave, and electronic. Yet, they don’t really do it for me.

New Order defines the 80s for me yet I’m always blown away how modern their stuff always sounds. The melody of the opening song feels like it’s always been buried in my head. Great way to kick off the album. Perfect Kiss is a great follow up and the one I know best from their Substance compilation. The next couple songs weren’t quite as good as the first two but still develop into great pieces to finish a near perfect first half. The second side kicks off with the coolest song on the album. It evokes the same power some of their stuff like Decades has - haunting and epic. Sooner Than You Think almost makes me laugh how quickly they change up the mood after Elegia. That’s actually a fantastic track wow, probably my choice for most underrated New Order song. Sub-culture is another classic although they improve upon it with the version on Substance. The final song is one of the weaker on the album but still have some euphoric moments that put a smile on my face as it ends. I’ve never thought of this as my favorite album of theirs but it might be. Rating: 4.9

Love the 80s composition and sound, kind of one note throughout the album though. Some sick licks throughout.

I wrestle with Low-Life. Seems like a bold push forward and also seems to possess a bit of trepidation embracing new technology. The result sometimes makes things feel a bit stilted. Overall, some very solid songs marred by some sub-par vocals. (Sub-culture and Face Up being the worst offenders) I feel a bit biased with this one.

Some great vibes here

Meh

'Low-Life' is often forgotten about in New Order's discography as it's nestled in between two immensely popular records of theirs: 'Power, Corruption and Lies' and 'Brotherhood': but it's every bit as good as both of those records, and arguably where they completed the transition from the gloomy, dark days of Joy Division into their own, danceable brand of post-punk with electronic flourishes. While Bernard Sumner is nowhere near the level of Ian Curtis as a vocalist, he, bassist Peter Hook, drummer Stephen Morris and keyboardist Gillian Gilbert more than make up for it with their dense, layered arrangements and musical finesse. 'Low-Life' not only rocks hard, but also has plenty of mellow keyboard/synth-driven moments to allow for deep reflection and allow you to breathe from some of the more frentic rockers. You can tell by Sumner's guitar tone on this record that he'd probably been paying attention to Robert Smith (The Cure) a bit, even though Smith was probably inspired by Sumner's Joy Division tone. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I suppose. It's still impressive to me that New Order were able to get it together so quickly after Ian Curtis' death in 1980 and continue to produce music of such substantial quality. When 'Low-Life' came out in 1985, Curtis had only been dead 5 years, and 'Low-Life' was New Order's third record. They'd already released 'Blue Monday' by this point too, so it's fair to say Ian Curtis wasn't the sole genius behind Joy Division. Probably not their best record, but 'Low-Life' perfectly demonstrates why New Order were just as great, arguably greater, even without the enigmatic presence of Curtis. Best songs: Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise, Sub-culture

IT WAS FIRE I LOVE JAZZ

Weirdly like a backing soundtrack to something 80’s like stranger things. Liked quite a few instrumental songs, their singing kinda ruined it in a few.

It was just ok. Nothing really stood out after the first song. The music feels disconnected to lyrics and vocals... Highlights: Love Vigilantes

Dude straight up cannot sing. Sucks coz the instrumentals are really good! Fav songs: Elegia, Sub-Culture

Can't quite put my finger on why but just really enjoyed the vibe. Quite different and boppy, reminds me of Mum a bit - just a nice easy listen.

This Time Of Night // Sunrise // Elegia // Sooner Than You Think // Sub-Culture // Face Up 4.5/5

4/10

You can definitely tell it was made in the eighties. This album would be make a great soundtrack for a feel good movie.

kom ud i en tid hvor synth-pop var begyndt at blive rigtig populært. New order er jo tidligere Joy Division som var mere post-punket og mørkt, men det her bevarer nu stadig det mørke synes jeg. Men man kan også høre det er mere danceable og groovy. Man kan rigtig høre de der programmerede 80'er trommer, så det lyder bare mega 80'er agtig med guitar indblandet. Men stadig rimelig simple 4/4 strukturer og guitarspil og catchy melodier og omkvæd. Jeg må indrømme jeg synes kombinationen af rock og elektronisk er mega fedt og det er nok derfor jeg også kan lide Stone roses, happy mondays, LCD-soundsystem etc som de her også har inspireret rigtig meget. Der er også rigtig meget af det som lyder meget som disintegration/the cure som jeg synes er rimelig klart og tydligt at der er inspiration fra. altså fra the cure. Der er dog noget med hans vokal som irriterer mig lidt hen af mod slutningen, hvor det lyder alt for meget som om han synger urent? jeg tror måske det er meningen, men jeg kan slet ikke fjerne fokus fra det. Det lyder næsten uproffesionelt. MEn det er det eneste som gør at det ikke bare er straight up topkarakter fra mig

9/10

Had a bit of a turn round with this. I've never really clicked with New Order, apart from some mega singles. On first listen, I struggled with Sumner's singing voice. He's not a natural singer and some of the lyrics aren't great. BUT. The sound of New Order is unique. The first song seems to be a letter home from a soldier - I didn't expect this. This disarmed me. I dropped me preconceptions and realised that New Order are a great band. I might not revisit this album much, but I'm looking forward to Power, Corruption and Lies at some point in the near-ish future.

Esta bueno, 8/10 ochentoso. Pero los banco una banda

Disjointed track by track but some solid tunes

Your mouth this morning was soft and sloppy and insistent. I left little finger marks on your hips. Your shaved pussy makes my dick look so big, and I stretched your asshole apart while you stayed bent over. You’re the kind of good girl that thanks me for coming so fast. You’re welcome.

Not so good, Al.

most mid punk I've ever heard

idk his voice is kind of whiny. the beats are a vibe though. i liked it by the end and head was swaying

This is a really nice album

This is where New Order makes the transition from post-punk to dance music. By incorporating both, they create something truly new and exciting for 1985. rock bands and synths, what a concept. New Order were on a streak, continued from Power, Corruption, & Lies (my favorite New Order album), and showed no signs of letting up. There really aren't any misses on this album. "Love Vigilantes", "The Perfect Kiss" and "Elegia" are my favorites, but the whole album is truly good.

Impressive as usual

Not something I’d put on regularly but fun once in a while. I have a feeling that if I’d been a New Order guy already I’d be all over this but listening now it doesn’t really move me.

Dette albumet var ikke så kult. Andre sanger fra de myyyye kulere

I love new order and joy division

I think the title says it all

The was better than the other New Order album I listened to. I knew Elegia.

Eh, kinda catchy at times but pretty tepid overall, particularly the vocally-unhinged closing track. Probably won't return to this one.

I'm really struggling to give a crap about yet another British 80s new wave album. There's one or two interesting moments on this but it's mostly interchangeable with all of the other new wave albums on this list. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing

these songs are pretty good but long overstay their welcome. if you cut a minute and a half off of each and added two or three more songs to make up the difference and this could be a four or five star album. as it stands, i struggled to stay engaged.

Pleasant 80s rock. I like the 2 songs with the synth sounds.

Stranger Things vibes. Terrible 80s drums/production but damn this album is actually so good.

This album is very 80's

Solid 80s

Meh. A 3.

This feels like the kind of album that requires a couple listens for it to really grow on you

Very good

Liked it.

I appreciate the historical context of it but it’s not necessarily my thing. A few songs stood out for me but the album as a whole was just ok.

This album didn't really do anything for me. Not bad, but didn't add much to my life.

Honestly can't tell it's not the Cure

It's pretty good! Extremely 80s. Elegia was the only stand out track to me, and I don't think that it's a coincidence that it's the only track without vocals.

I liked it more than I expected to. It's hard not to just constantly compare it to Joy Division and find it wanting, but on it's own merits it's a surprisingly upbeat, synth-y, post-punk jam. The lyrics can bleed into self-parody, but there's some real emotion there and it's interesting to hear them try and move past the moody downbeats into something more varied. It still feels more like a transition piece, it's not going to make it into my rotation, but solid stuff of an era. The cover is... boring, just not much of interest, I can respect the simplicity, it's a 2/5.

Sub par New order album I think “Elegia” is magically but “sub-culture” feels wrong.

Not an instant classic like power corruption lies, less electronic sound, more stone roses esque indie pop vibe - baggy precursor.

Ihan kiva ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ihan kivaa tavaraa!

I think I left same review for a different new order album, but every song made me think of 'temptation', which isn't on this album. Good synth wave if you're into that.

very nice

#194/1001. It took three albums for New Order to emerge from the legacy of Joy Division and the blend into the by then ubiquitous sound of the 80s. There are signs of the massive hits which will fill the dance floors all around the world 30 years later, but still for me this album is sort of between.

Not a New Order fan. Their music constantly leaves more to be desired. I liked The Perfect Kiss and Sunrise, but the other songs were meh. Not a bad album, but it feels too sparse and unengaging.

A fine listen. It's got heavy synth and sampler inclusion, very indicative of the time and establishing a bit of a dark tone. Vocals aren't the strong suit here, however, and seem to take a backseat to the collective efforts of the rest of the group.

Для своего время, думается, то, что нужно. В наше время слушается довольно старомодно. Лучшая песня: Elegia

In the year 2025, this album oozes retro cool, and especially with the synths. Favorite track: "This TIme of Night," "Elegia"

Brit pop with crap vocals. Really basic and annoying.

80’s bangers

Love Vigilantes et Sunrise mes préférées. Elegia bonne aussi dans son style. Les 3 dernières sont moins solides toutefois et on fait baisser la cote. 3,5/5

Day 2: Low-Life - New Order Love Vigilantes: (6/10) The Perfect Kiss: (4/10) This Time of Night : (7/10) Sunrise: (7.5/10) Elegie: (3/10) Sooner Than You Think: (6.5/10) Sub-culture: (3/10) Face Up: (0/10) Average: (4.6/10) 2 Stars

Meh

Torn between whether I actually like this or not. I think it’s ok, I think it’s likely inspired a lot of much better music.

Love this one. Really solid classic rock, totally rooted in the blues, album that I hadn't heard before.

Liked it better than I figured I would. Love the bass player

Pretty standard 80s fare

I do quite enjoy 80s New Wave, and this wasn't an exception. I do think the vocals get in the way of good music occasionally, and I think Sunrise was a straight rip-off of The Cure. The second half of the album actually was worse with the vocals/lyrics and brought this album down from ⭐⭐⭐.5 to ⭐⭐.5. Bummer ⭐⭐.5

Haven’t heard this New Order album, not my favorite tracks

Album 60/1001 Manc for it 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝

Good

I was interested to note after listening that this album was recorded a couple of years after Blue Monday - the sound is a lot less electronic and more reminiscent of the band's roots as Joy Division. Decent album without any exciting stand-out moments

This one is alright. Aside from Sunrise surprisingly sound intense, and some of the tracks being catchy. The rest of the album just didn't grab for me.

Okay

People are going to hate this take but the vocals drag the whole thing down. The instrumental work does the heavy lifting. "The Perfect Kiss" has that almost Boney M Rasputin groove and it actually goes hard. "Sunrise" is the obvious highlight with clean, memorable guitar work that sticks. "Sub Culture" is a mess. The vocals sound half asleep and the backing track doesn’t bother to wake them up. The whole thing just lies there. "Face Up" is even worse. The vocals are straight up out of tune and I genuinely don’t understand how people rate it that high. That track alone drops the whole album another point for me. The album has real sparks of brilliance and plenty of ideas worth taking notes on, but those eighties vocals feel lazy and end up holding everything back. Solid record that never fully lands. 7/10.

Better than I recall but may be a bit overrated. Still gonna give a 4 tho

4.5. In the end you will submit its got to hurt a little bit

3.5 A lot of great tracks! but some middling ones too

This was really, really good. I think they could probably lose the harmonica in the beginning song but there was so much tonal and vocal variety which, for lack of a better reference right now, really gave off the vibes of something like a Donkey Kong Country or Earthbound soundtrack.

An interesting little 80’s album that makes good use of synth. I can see the appeal.

8.0/10 Wow what a surprise this was. Never listened to early New Order before and loved the guitar heavy tracks. Thought some tunes sounded like The Cure and Nine Inch Nails. Really enjoyed this one!!

This album is exactly why I’m happy I’m doing this project - totally something I like that I have somehow missed listening to all these years. Added to my iPod. Really good album does sound slightly dated at times but still so listenable today - somewhere between a 4 and 5 for sure - catchy jammable sounds like walking in the city at night

Crisp, absolutely perfect production. Every instrument rings through so clearly and there isn't a weak song in the bunch. Elegia sounds cinematic.

Mit denen wollte ich mich immer mal beschäftigen. Das hört sich auch alles ganz gut an, leider kam das Album aber an einem Tag, an dem ich kaum Zeit hatte in Ruhe zu hören statt nebenbei.

Gutes Album ohne große Highlights.

Kannte ich auch noch nicht. Jeder Song hat gehittet. Klasse Band!

Richtige 80er Vibes. Ich erinnere mich als wäre ich da schon geboren. Ich liebs. Aber nicht für mein Leben.

Hat mich kaum beeindruckt - weder im Positiven noch Negativen.

Hat mich leider nicht gecatched

While not my favorite New Order album, I still love every it of it. However, I wish that they used the full version of "Perfect Kiss" The edit is always jarring to me. And an extended "Elegia" would be great too. Plus, "Bizarre Love Triangle" is on of my all time favorite songs, but I prefer a different mix. My qualms aside, this album is still brilliant!

Good but feel like ya had to be there at the time to truly appreciate it

Love the instrumentals more than the vocals.

I enjoyed this album surprisingly- I loved Joy Division, but never got into NO. Decent listen

What a great way to start the week. New Order is one of my favorite groups, alternative/progressive or otherwise. I happen to own this album on vinyl and it is brilliant. Listening brought back some very nice late 80's memories. More New Order!

Love Vigilantes 3.8 The Perfect Kiss 3.7 This Time of Night 3.5 Sunrise 3.6 Elegia 3.7 Sooner Than You Think 3.6 Sub-culture 3.4 Face Up 3.4 Score: 3.5875

Odotin enemmän?

One of the best New Order albums. The first half is one great song after the next. Moody, angular but also full of warm synths, it finds a common ground between post-punk and dance - and with that New Order’s influence cannot be understated. The second half isn’t as strong as the first. And Sunrise may be the best song The Cure never wrote.

Really consistent album with recognizable New order guitar and voice in every song. Particularly enjoyed the perfect kiss and Sunrise but the album as a whole is good

Liked this one a lot. An interesting mix of songs and moods

new wave bop

Not one of my favourite New Order albums although many acclaim it as one of their best

picks: Love vigilantes, the perfect kiss

I was expecting to like this one, but I must be thinking of Substance. The lead singer is off pitch a lot and his voice just isn't very good here.

Eh

2.5 Stars Love Vigilantes is an incredible song, love it so much. I'm also really familiar with the Iron & Wine version so that helps (originally thought it was written by Iron & Wine)... There were a few other cool moments on the record. But mostly I was thinking that this album is definitely not what I think of when I think "New Order". Idk if my conception of what New Order is is just skewed and not really accurate or what, but I feel like Substance and PC&L have more of the big New Order songs. Maybe I just don't know this band as well as I thought I did lol.

I’m not sure man this shit was quite boring to me. Slight moments but for the most part it was lost on me!

Found this record incredibly boring. The only track I liked was the instrumental. I just have hard time with this era of post-punk dance music, it doesn’t resonate with me.

Not one of their best - specifically lyrically - but still damn great. 3.5

Fantastic album, five star potential I will be revisiting! A strong 4/5

Sounds so much like the other bands around at this time that I didn't like then and still don't enjoy now.

LOVE VIGILANTES kicks off this album quite nicely. Plus, we got frog sounds in THE PERFECT KISS. Quality addition of frog sounds!

This was fine

This was fine

I don’t know how I never caught this before, but listening to this record made me realize just how much New Order and The Cure were fighting over the same territory. The first two songs here are quintessential New Order- but then right in the middle are a couple of excellent Cure songs. I enjoyed this one. Sumner can't sing much, but he means it. One issue here is that with a couple of the tracks, the layers get so thick it's a bit too much, especially percussively. Otherwise this is some nice, tortured electronic dance music. THREE STARS

One of New Orders best works. It’s a thing of beauty!

I didn't like this as much as I expected, but I can really hear how they influenced later artists, which is pretty cool

Pretty inoffensive stuff. I enjoyed it well enough, but I'm not floored. Perhaps not what I would have expected out of ex. Joy Division?

Went over this album a week ago, and it passed me by completely. Returned again yesterday, and something clicked. My new-found appreciation was probably partly because I listened on a way better sound system, but it really came alive in another way. The album feels very much like a synth record to me, a feeling enhanced due to the heavy chorus use on guitar. Sounds a bit like a mix between Depeche Mode and Petshop Boys. I found many songs I liked on the record: The first three ones, 'Elegia', and 'Sub-culture'. Most of the record was quite good sounding, with very few duds. After listening to this again I think it actually deserves a weak 4. Very good sounding record still, and the songs hold up well. It definitely sounds dated though, not doubt.

The only song I really know by New Order is Blue monday. This sounded a lot more like 80s pop than I was expecting. My favourite songs were the ones furthest form this sound. “Sunrise” was by far my favourite song with it’s guitar driven riffs. My other favourite was “Elegia” which just sounded dark and ambient. The weakest part of this album may be it’s vocals. They really work for some tracks but for many they are a dud. I mean, the vocals sound like bad kareoke on “Sub-Culture”. I have trouble settling between a strong 3 or a weak 4. I started listening a second time and the album started to grow on me. Weak 4 it is.

Good album, all pretty good songs nothing terrible

Cold, elegant, influential—and occasionally feels like the band is actively trying not to sound too interested in their own songs. Iconic vibes, emotionally on airplane mode.

I made the mistake of drifting away from New Order after "Power, Corruption & Lies", a lapse I struggle to explain especially as I found "Low-Life" to be a five-star album; I was immediately compelled to play it through multiple times. Side one is near-perfection, loaded with tracks that are, frankly, stonkingly good (that's a valid musical term!): - "Love Vigilantes" sets a brilliant tone with its immediate, melodic hook. - "The Perfect Kiss" is Please-era Pet Shop Boys before the fact, all pulsing synthesisers and driving dance rhythms. - "This Time of Night" is my favourite; it’s the quintessential fusion of stark post-punk dread and compelling electronic pulse. - "Sunrise" is an absolute banger, showcasing that fantastic, raw guitar tone and bass lines worthy of legend, a song that flirts powerfully with the Joy Division sound. Side two starts more introspectively with the subdued elegance of "Elegia." The album finds its full, upbeat momentum again on "Sub-Culture," where all the disparate sonic elements click into the peak groove established on Side One. "Low-life" concludes with the quirky, up-beat "Face Up". At its height, Low-Life is the definitive New Order statement: the inimitable bass, meticulous rhythmic programming, throbbing electronics and dance beats, unforgettable melodies, and those evocative guitar flashes reminiscent of their past. Sumner’s voice, always a point of debate, is one of my favourite elements. I appreciate the bravery in its fragility; he purposefully embraces sounds that are imperfect or rough, successfully navigating the fine line away from Ian Curtis while still suiting the music perfectly. A fabulous album. Side one 1 "Love Vigilantes" (5/5) 2 "The Perfect Kiss" (5/5) 3 "This Time of Night" (5/5) 4 "Sunrise" (5/5) Side two 1 "Elegia" (5/5) 2 "Sooner Than You Think" (4/5) 3 "Sub-culture" (5/5) 4 "Face Up" (5/5) Total - 39 Average - 4.88 158/1001 87/158 albums reviewed were new to me.

Favorite track(s): Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise

Not much to say here. I like it. You give me pacy, melodic guitar and keyboard-driven music and I'm a happy camper. I'm not the biggest fan of Bernard Sumner's vocals, but his voice doesn't lessen the overall impact for me. Can take or leave the instrumental "Elegia" and weirdly-mixed "Sub-Culture", but otherwise every song is good.

I'd like to give this another listen. Maybe it'll move to 4.

Tinny toe tapping in a drizzle.

probably my favorite album of all time

New Wave has never sounded better, this might actually be my favourite New Order album at this point.

Traditional Rock Band, fun stuff but nothing crazy. 5.6/10

I like new order ... this was ok. 2.5/5

Standouts Sunrise Elegia

New wave sometimes is great and other times is not so great. I'm split on where this album falls on the scale, but I can say that albeit dated and uniquely new wave it goes pretty hard at times. I found myself a bit taken by the grooves and melodies. Vocals are so over reverved that I wish they weren't even there. But alas, they complimented the sound which I Sonically pleasant and definitely a wall of sound at times, tinges of psychedelic motifs in the bridges and verses. But it kinda just didn't excite or dazzle me like I wanted it to. New order has that banger "Blue Monday" which I'm sad to not see on this albo. I'll give it a three. Not a tastemakers choice nor a pop phenomenon, dare I say run of the mill.

Perfectly understand how there could be lovers and 5/5s for this album, i absolutely love the sound.... For some reason it really just didnt click for me on my first listen, could very easily revisit and think otherwise. 3/5

Was never particularly of a fan of New Order growing up, so much so that I didn't bother with Joy Division for a long time. Some intense listening later and I'm now a big fan of Joy Division but New Order still largely elude me. Sure, they have some undoubtedly great and classic songs and there's some good ones on this album but over the course of the whole album, it's just ok, rather than the greatness we hear in _Unknown Pleasures_ and _Closer_. They lost something both literally and figuratively when Ian Curtis passed and its not just his vocals, although that is certainly a weakness here.

another album from new order. it's more of that spacey, synthy dance pop music that i've heard before... not sure if it's any different from the last one. from what i've read, this is their first album where they've really dived into that synth dance pop sound. it's strange to me, new order to me is one of the greatest examples of alternative synth pop groups, and yet when i listen to a lot of albums by them, i don't fully get into it. maybe it's too spacey, maybe the production is a little messy. it's not to say this album or other albums by the group is terrible, i think there's just an extra bit of polish that's needed on a lot of these songs in my opinion. the songs are pretty great though.

This album is fine. I've never been much of a fan of New Order, and I completely get why others do. I'm more tolerant of wonky vocals in genres that are more in my wheelhouse and would likely be more forgiving if this album had been part of my repertoire when I was 15-27. But as a middle aged listener, the shitty vocals were distracting; the songs where the vocals stayed in his comfortable range were by far my favorites. The album captures the time perfectly from a sound standpoint, so it was fun to listen on that level. But the mediocre vocals and the uneven quality of music and songs across the album really brought the listening experience down.

8/10 Favourite: Love Vigilantes Least Favourite: Sooner Than You Think

This is my kind of 80's music. I found myself drawn to Elegia in particular.

favourite: love vigilantes

I love me some New Order, but this one I wasn't quite jiving with.

Classic 80s sound. Singers were generally too long and very similar sounding. I like the bounciness though. Randomly off key singing was annoying.

Vette new wave

Erstattet albumversjonen av Elegia med fullversjonen, siden jeg har en svakhet for 17 min lange sanger. The Perfect Kiss minner meg om han tiktok-fyren jeg fulgte før som laget en dans til den lol. Nostalgisk album med masse bra synth

Likte instrumentene og musikken, og tekstene til tider. synes vokalisten dro litt ned

Se merecen un buen trato los muchachos

Quintessential 80s that combines synth/electronics/rock/pop with echoing and vast vocals that don’t hit. While mostly enjoyable, it doesn’t have a lasting effect on me and made me want to listen to The Cure instead. There were some moments throughout where the music was captivating enough and allowed you to lock in, but probably not enough where I’d warrant listening to this entire album again.

His voice is very pitchy. The beat was good, but overall the songs were hard to listen to.

New Wave Classic! 5/5

Autant j’ai beaucoup aimé certaines chansons, autant la majorité ne m’a pas convaincue…

Melancholy post-punk / synth-pop that reminds me of both The Cure and Depeche Mode. I really enjoyed it but some of the more 80s elements haven't aged so well and I didn't really like the vocals. Love Vigilantes sounds really familiar and is great, as is Elegia.

In one of the reviews I read on this site, someone said that this sounds a lot like a guy singing karaoke at a bar after a few too many drinks. I agree with that. And also: give me more of this shit.

Valued watching the Joy Division documentary and film. Such a significant life and story of Ian and curious to hear how they are without him… Obviously, very familiar instrumental sound and structure. And not only a clearly different vocal, but really lacking in general. Feels it’s missing a fair few notes. Luckily, still good songwriting and backing. Yeh, vocals painful. Like a bad pub band singer. Really gets in the way of the album. Some nice use of electronics. Would probably be 3.5, but vocals take away too much.

Yes the vocals are a bit rough but that’s a vibe, the lyrics are good and I loveeeee synth 3 feels low so gonna say 3.5

The guitars are really nice. The singing… he is one of those guys that is a crap singer, but there is something captivating about his voice.

I like the second half of the album better than the first half, but overall, quite a good album.

2.5 - straight down the middle

Good but not amazing. Not my fav period of New Order, but interesting to hear!

no no like

Wow, that was a tough listen. Musically speaking, it's not terrible but it's definitely just 80's synth-pop. There were some insrumental moments throughout the record where there was a decent groove happening but these moments were few and far between. The real low point of this record was the vocals. During the first couple of tracks, I just thought that they didn't sound quite right but after a while I came to the firm realization that whoever the singer was in New Order just couldn't sing. I'm not even trying to be overly critical. It's not that his voice doesn't suit me or that his style isn't to my liking. He actually can't sing. It reminds me of a bad American Idol audition. He isn't a competent singer. The lyrics are dumb love inspired bullshit but it's the vocal performance that ruins this average 80's synth-pop record. The thing that bothers me most about this experience is how it could possibly be regarded as an album that MUST be listened to before one dies. I strongly disagree with that sentiment. It sucks and I'll never listen to it again(hopefully).

Hm, od New Order poznam samo "Blue Monday" - I guess mi to vsaj vajb pove? (Pa Peter Hooka sm šla gledat, ko je neki let nazaj (omfg, 'neki let nazaj', lol, to je blo 2013) bil v Kino Šiški in so špilal Unknown Pleasures - kar mam rajši, k vajb New Order.) Yes, same vajb. ("Love Vigilantes" ma zanimiva besedila - od vojaka, k se vrne iz Vietnama.) "The Perfect Kiss" ma vmes random frog noises? (In kul začetek. Fakin hiter ritem.) ("This Time of Night" ma safr besedila, a po muski ne bi to dojel.) "Sunrise" mi zveni k The Cure komad. (Ampak, je kul!) "Elegia" je fakin amazing. (Vidim, da je bil za Iana Curtisa napisan.) ("Sooner Than You Think" mi je kul, koj na repeat. "Subculture" je ok. Instrumentalno me eni deli na "Blue Monday" spomnejo.) Ok, moje prvo poslušanje je blo dons ob pospravljanju & ne preveč pozorno. Will listen again, v oklepajih.

winner, this'll get more play

Not an album I have heard before but quite a nice collection of electro pop with a couple of experimental tracks too. Worth a listen.

Vocals were mid. Mediocre 80s album. 2* Highlights: elegia

Honestly could not wait for this one to be over. Lyrics are uninspired, dull and oftentimes jarring compared to the acoustics. The only saving piece of this album is that the beat is surprisingly good for an otherwise bad album. Would not listen again, kept praying that the next song would start and that it would be better.

A total classic, hearing Elegia for the first time was quite breathtaking. Great accessible yet innovative music.

Sunrise was best song.

i wish to club in the late 80s

turned it off after 3 songs

Ah some really good new wave melodies from a band that likes Nazi stuff too much. Also this album cover is bad. Top tracks: "Love Vigilantes," "The Perfect Kiss," "Sub-culture," "This Time of Night"

Wasn't aware they did other songs than Blue Monday? Ok, so this just sounds to be like replacement level 80s britpop electronica, which, not really my bag, generally. It's a 2 for me, maybe a 2.5 if that was possible. Musically it's kind of fun but it's just not for me. Call it one of the 600 albums I should hear once before I die, if that at all. We have Depeche Mode at home ass album. A cure, not The Cure. A contented subsection more than a Joy Division. The whole thing is Erasure erasure, tbh.

--Love Vigilantes...the jangly guitars are doing interesting things --The Perfect Kiss...not really feeling the vocals. the synths (?) are interesting --This Time of Night...generic 80s ballad #327 --Sunrise...I like the energy. too long but it rocks --Elegia...instrumental. it's interesting --Sooner Than You Think...decent dance groove. the vocals are meh --Sub-Culture...another decent dancer. it's all starting to bleed together now --Face Up...vocals once again get in the way of what would otherwise be a decent groove

Love Vigilantes - 4/5 The Perfect Kiss - 3/5 This Time of Night - 4/5 Sunrise - 5/5 Elegia - 3/5 Sooner Than You Think - 4/5 Sub-Culture - 4/5 Face Up - 5/5 Average score: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Solid. But sometimes his voice be annoying me. Prefer the Cure

this is ok, kinda of just droning lyrics and the songs sounds blend together

some songs on substance got a better sound to it then on here. but there are some bangers on here i havent heard, solid 4

Not a bad synth-pop album. If there was an option to eliminate the vocals, this would have been so much better.

Never really listened to New Order. Love Vigilantes has a strong opener. Overall this album is pretty rad! Nothing too groundbreaking but pleasant to listen to. I can't pick out any real stand outs. Maybe Sub-culture.

joy division you can dance to

Ok. ★★★

yeah why not partie 2 ❤︎: Love Vigilantes, Sooner Than You Think, Sub-Culture, Face Up

A lubię New Order. elektronika nie jest tu nachalna, raczej stanowi tło niż główny sens i motyw przewodni. Utwory są melodyjne i wpadają w ucho. Nic mi się nie dłuży. 7/10

4,1 - Ein Album wie aus einem Guss. Ohne den einen Hit ist es von vorne bis hinten ein Erlebnis. Highlights: Sunrise, Elegia

Bel sound nel complesso, ma non memorabile

Classic New Wave goodness

120/1001 :: New Order - Low-Life Heard before? :x: Would I revisit? :white_check_mark: Rating: 8 Listen before you die: Yes (especially if you fancy Joy Division) I’ve heard songs from this album before specifically Love Vigilantes (maybe my favorite New Order song) which I love, but never this whole album. And 2 things really struck me about this album. First, I’m no New Order expert but it’s the most Joy Division sounding album they have (which is awesome). Second, the vocals on this album are not great. Sumner does his best here but I don’t ever recall a New Order album where I was like wow they miss Ian Curtis but it’s very apparent here. Either way this album has great songs and they all hold together really well. I think I just found my "go-to" New Order album.

Took a few playthroughs, but this was really good 80s pop! Favourite tracks: Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, Elegia, Sooner Than You Think, Sub-culture.

Ugh, another synth-pop album. No real emotion either way on this. 3/5.

Two stars.. Not engaging at all

Decent use of synths but reminded me a bit of the cute but not as good

It was a beautiful spring day when I trotted home aged 15 from the local Woolworths with my brand new copy of Low-Life by New Order. I was very excited to hear the music because I had loved their performance from Maida Vale Studios on BBC2 last year and watched my VHS copy of it many many times. I found the tracing paper adorned cover enticing and sophisticated. Overall it fitted well as part of my teenage self transformation from dweeby metal kid into eclectic cool kid with a grown-up genre free outlook on music and culture. I had changed my room recently mixing Motorhead posters with posters of The Cure and The Cramps. I had even taken responsibility for my first ever pot plant of my own perched on a bookshelf. The sun burst through my upstairs window dappling the room in a warm Spring glow. I was taking my first listen while marvelling at the unique artwork while giving my new responsibility a much needed drink. A too enthusiastically given drink as it turned out because the saucer the plant pot sat in soon started to spill a waterfall from my bookshelf splatting straight down onto my treasured new record bobbling and ruining the lovely tracing paper. A useful lesson in how a certain amount of dweebyness will never leave us. I'm listening to the same copy forty years later and tracing the bubbles on the tracing paper lightly with my fingers.

Постоянное ощущение, что я где-то это слышал. Но в целом звучит, как несмелый и застенчивый Depeche Mode

Indie before it was known as that. Alternative as well. Dance based 80s Irish awesomeness.

Not my favorite New Order. A few solid rock-ier songs (Love Vigilantes and Sunrise). Face Up is a great dance song, up there with Bizarre Love Triangle for my favorite of theirs in that genre, but I still don’t like that mode of New Order all that much.

A very 80s sounding album. Not a bad thing, but nothing stood out to me

I thought it was fine, didn't really catch my interest though. Exceptionally 80s

There's no band in the world that sound more like themselves than new order. The effects on the guitar and bass are so good and so them. Its good. Not sure its as good as the other new order album on the list but its grrrrreat

Favourite track: love vigilantes

Despite the weak vocals I found the album enjoyable. Some Joy Division vibes but not as dark or moody, definitely more dance oriented.

This album isn't bad, but it's not much of my liking. It's very safe, and doesn't offer much more than 80's new-wave, which becomes very insipid for me and is the same thing all the time. So it's nice, not bad, but not that good to be a highlight. I would give it a 5 out of 10, so three stars is fair enough.

Standard 80s music, big fan of "Elegia".

Very good!

- Zeer zagerig - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM

гармошка эта ебучая)) в основном - минус вайб, кроме элегии. джой дивижн круче!

2.8 2x decent but nothing stood out

4/10

I like synth, but this is a lot of synth. Best track was Elegia by far. Balanced the synth levels well with an emotive set of other instrumentation. And also, has anyone noticed that Sumner is just a terrible vocalist?

Never quite gets going. Love Vigilantes is an all-timer though.

It was quite good and had a solid alt 90's sound. Interesting and fun to listen to.

Synth pop is usually not my thing, but this is such an awesome album that I really enjoyed it from start to finish. Great musicianships, playing overall sound. It's a 4.5, pretty close to 5.

Another new wavey entry. I liked it more than Devo but still not my sound. Prefer the cure for the genre

Not terrible, but every song sounds the same to me--kind of like The Cure. Probably a 2.5 for me, but bumping.

Classic album with several timeless tracks.

Really good

What a great album to start with. A pure 80s classic. I hadn't heard this in a while. I didn't like it back in the 80s so that was a nice reminder of how uncool I was. Thanks for that.

Cover to cover, plus it's a Metal Gear reference

I enjoyed this! 80s 80s 80s synths synths synths. I need to get more into it to really dig into the lyrics. But I’m really enjoying what I’m hearing. I went back to listen to elegia multiple times, it just sounds so barren and epic. All tho production makes me wanna dance. I am a shameless synth pop lover. 3.5/5

Poppy 80's dance music. I was never really into New Order (nor Joy Division) back in the day, so for me it's just OK. Some of their other songs are definitely better, like Bizarre Love Triangle.

I feel like New Order has better albums. Pretty much every excellent song here is balanced out by one with shaky vocals.

Waffled between a 3 and 4 for this one given my love of Joy Division and New Order - but I think there's a reason I haven't really heard anything beyond the big singles for this album. & his vocals are quite weak on a few songs, honestly taking me out of enjoying the new wave synth vibes I usually love. So a 3 it is.

Overly synth-y 80s pop, but still pretty nice. Started out great, but kinda got forgettable and same-y after a while. Best song: Love Vigilantes

New Order’s for feeling things. So in no particular order: Thank you to Bernard Sumner for never yielding and, oh, I don’t know, getting some singing lessons sorted; it is you who normalised thin and wispy vocals that routinely overextend themselves and for that emo thanks you. “The Perfect Kiss” is a perfect song made all the better for its infuriatingly premature ending (you work me all the way up just to fade out then?!). I wish that bloke from Ou’est Le Swimming Pool hadn’t died. If I could only listen to records from one year in musical history, it’s 1985 and it isn’t even close (add this to Songs from the Big Chair, Meat is Murder, Night Time, Steve McQueen, Don’t Stand Me Down …). “Elegia” is wonderful and so obviously full of love – it’s a beautiful piece of music – but it also reminds me a lot of something I’d hear on the odd occasion I caught some post-watershed 90s telly, an ITV programme about ghosts or other unexplained phenomena. Maybe those two sensations aren’t entirely disconnected. “Sooner than you think” is so full of competing hooks – ahem – that I reckon I could listen to it a dozen times and, by picking a different track to focus on, hear a dozen different songs. What is Bernard thinking with all this horny stuff? It’s not that the monotone drawl makes lines about “pleasure zones” and “rummaging around in the park” (or whatever it is he says) worse – no vocalist could resuscitate such etiolated frippery – but rather the opposite: by sounding so absolutely humdrum, Bernard threatens to expose sex itself as something so entirely quotidian that it’s barely worth bothering over. Drop the first and last songs from this LP and you’ve got the best EP ever made; leave them there and you’ve just got a really bloody good record. Poor things. What’s it about a band like New Order that makes me feel like I’m being given a sort of, maybe not guided, but scaffolded experience? It’s uncanny – without ever needing to pay too much attention to what’s being said, I never fail to be overwhelmed by an abundance of feeling. If I can put it this way – this is the sort of record that opens up a space of its own; my every emotion mixing on a dance floor of pulsating coloured tiles forever and ever. It’s just that, I suppose. New Order’s for feeling things.

80s rhythm driven synth rock. Not bad, but doesn't pull my heart or mind strings.

Solid album. I liked that he used frogs as an instrument.

English, instrumental, average. We have a New Order of boaring. Jk. But this was pretty average for me. Good but nothing special. 5 out of 10

I like new order quite a bit. And this was pretty decent. Not much else to say. Pretty chill.

“Sunrise” was super great!

i can smell a ghost soldier twist coming a mile away

OH WOW starting off strong!! Like right off the bat the first track is so good. Probably the best music I’ve listened to in a long while. Holyyyy folks. Okayyy on the second track now and I can definitely hear the post-punk sound, plus some pure 80s structure/synth. Almost reminiscent of Joe Strummer on Combat Rock? It’s fun! Some low points in the album—nothing distinctly bad, just less exciting than the standard set by the best tracks on the record, which is a compliment.

The 1980s is known for its mediocre bands that produced one or two good singles. Here we have a mediocre band without the hit single. Not a bad band, but certainly nothing you have to listen to before you die.

Eins mikið og ég fíla Blue Monday þá var þetta alls ekki gott. Mér fannst söngvarinn oft vera hreinlega falskur. Mig langaði að líka við þessa plötu en ég get það einfaldlega ekki. Samt tvær.