Reviews (page 5 of 10)
I’d never actually heard this in full before and it was very impressive. I enjoyed it more the second time I listened once I better understood the story which was devastating. I do think it’s funny that a lot of the songs were basically disco or musical theater but were probably beloved by those who “hated” those genres. Another Brick Part 1 was my favorite . Would give a 4.5 if possible.
Awesome album! This will be replayed multiple times. Excited to listen to more by New Order
New Order fait partie des groupes que je ne m'explique pas encore pourquoi, en cette ère de streaming où tous les albums sont accessibles, je ne suis pas encore allé explorer leurs albums. Je connaissais seulement la chanson Blue Monday. Et bien disons qu'après I'm Your Man de Leonard Cohen, on a le contrepoids des années 80 qui fonctionnent ici. Plus l'album avançait et plus j'aimais ce que j'entendais. Une bonne dose de bons synthétiseurs, mais avec des guitares tout de même assez présentes et bien traitées. C'est un peu comme si The Cure voulait faire de la musique pour danser. Elegia m'a rappelé l'ambiance que les musiciens Kyle Dixon et Michael Stein ont voulu recréer pour la musique de la série Stranger Things. La génération synth-pop du début des années 2000 a certainement carburée à cet album. Je vais assurément y revenir.
Very smiths but really good, more diverse
Hadn't listened to this particular New Order album before, but was pleasantly surprised. Holds up against the rest of their catalogue and a very solid listen.
forget Guns n’ Roses and Cyndi Lauper, THIS is real 80s music
Je pense que si j'étais né en 1960 j'aurais été fan
This was the least known of New Order‘s work for me. Excellent album with very few weak songs.
Awesome. A mix of the gothic Joy Division sound and something poppier. I really like Joy Division so I don't know why I never bothered listening to this band before. He's doing the Megamind "No bitches?" angle on the cover by the way.
The epic electronica album by New Order. Ends come together here
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.
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.
Oye, este disco es entero bueno
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.
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! 🙏
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.
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.
New wave 80s. Kind of cool. Sort of like the cure. Good stuff.
geðveikt
Loved this, top notch
Really Good. 4/5
Never listened to a new order album before. This was great.
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.
Great 80's sound with catchy melodies
New order é brabo
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!
I really enjoyed this album, it is really engaging and I especially liked 'Elegia'. Will definitly listen again.
Love Hookys bass.
Solid 80s
Listen to this a lot when it was released. Some brilliant tracks but one or two that stop it being a full 5.
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
Good stuff
Obligatory Metal Gear Solid V "Why are we still here? Just to suffer?" reference.
It just doesn’t get more 80s!
Very solid 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.
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.
Good! Reminds me of tears for fears.
álbum dançante. duas misturas: rock e dançante, preferi a metade dançante. queria ir na balada nos EUA nos anos 80 para ouvir isso.
great
Quality new-wave album, 4/5 stars
Maybe not their best, but still good enough for a 4
Good album.
Nästan en femma fr… jag bara fanar så hårt med syntpop….
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.
אלבום ממש טוב אבל הסולן ממש מזייף אז זה קצת הרבה מוריד
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.
pretty good 4
Norm sündikas
So many great re-listens this week.
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.
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.
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 :)
Virkelig god blanding punk + rock med et snært af vanilje (techno) indover. Især sidste halvdel er god!
Synth pop just works...
Nice album
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.
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.
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.
Not my favorite, stylistically mostly, but there are some bangers on here, can hear the influence on a ton of bands to come
You know how I feel about synths
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
Near perfect album by New Order. Peter Hook's bass is the star of this album and a very bright one at that
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
Fuck yeah, New Order.
I like it. More dissonant than I recall
Really good
I thought this was good. Vocals are a bit annoying. Sounded a bit the cure but otherwise good
The last great New Order album.
Much more moody than I expected, enjoyed it, good movie music!
Great. Very synth heavy with some great tracks. Recognized "Elegia" from movies/tv
Yass. Not my favourite New Order album but a goodie, to be sure.
The first half of this album is ok. The second half starts off with a beautiful composition followed by somewhat better songs. 4/5
its good. poppy and fun and way les overplayed
Fun new wave album with some killer synth lines on it
Great listening.
Some classics on here. Would be great for an 80s party.
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
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.
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.
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!
Fast besser al Joy Division
Oké album. Elegia is mijn favoriete nummer op dit album
"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)
Cure-ish
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.
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.
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
Amazing album. 2nd best NO album. 8/10
Great 80s alt pop. Has love vigilantes
enjoyed!
Great for the 80s
Do like their combination of synths and guitars. Not my favorite album by them but their sound in general definitely works for me.
A really fun and poppy (and 80s) album! This Aussie gives it four tins of Milo out of five.
First entire New Order album I've ever listened to.
Like it so far
Solid! Roots of early NIN, obvs.
I liked the album overall but “Elegia” pushed it to 4 stars!
Liked it, but maybe needs another 2-3 listens. Subculture and This Time of Night were best.
Big fan of this album.
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 a lot but not really music to listen to at work. I like Joy Division and I can hear their roots sometimes
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
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.
7/10
great. real 80s sounding stuff
The album was better than I was fearing, as New Order is typically not my style. That being said the album was fairly enjoyable. More melodic than I anticipated, while it didn't strike a massive chord with me it was still one I enjoyed listening to and wouldn't turn it off if it was on.
Electronic music and synth pop is not really my thing there are often many albums I would pick before I listen to something electronic but I have to admit this is pretty catchy in more than a few moments. The heavy deep synth beats and some of those brutal basslines really set the tone for Low-Life it is kind of melancholic but powerful. I think the bassplayer plays his bass as a lead melody instrument sometimes which is really cool. The vocals are solid. Nothing special or outstanding but fits the style in my opinion. I think they lost their old leadsinger who was in Joy Division with them so they had to replace that spot did a solid job as mentioned. After going through the album a few times I'm still not too sure what to think about it. There are those catchy moments but its also like expected not my type of music and the moments where I put Low-Life on will be rather rare. I still have respect for their new and old band and acknowledge their influence. 3,0/5
Really had hoped for more from New Order. This one is just ok.
I was expecting to hate this, and I'm surprised to find that I didn't. I didn't especially _like_ it, but it was listenable at least. 3/5.
It's taken me a long time to even like New Order. This was fine
No se entiende nada la voz y suena mal. Pero el estilo de la música del disco muy bueno, igual siento que es bizzarre love triangle sin lo pegadizo de esa canción.
"this is okay I guess" -> "wait does this rule?" vocals are kinda awful sometimes. and it's 80s as hell (affectionate)
Found this a bit boring and repetitive unfortunately. Won’t listen again.
Classic 80s feel, but nothing that truly elevates it. Solid but nothing that really screams smash hit
This album marked the transition from punks with synths to a more mainstream sound and vision Its fine, just not one of the NO records I reach for very often
5/10
It's a solid album. Not my favorite New Order album but it has some gems. I couldn't get that review that it sounds like someone doing bad karaoke out of my head though. Spot on
Quintessential 80s synth pop. Always liked Love Vigilantes.
Love vigilantes would make a kick ass band name. Enjoyed the song, enjoyed the album. This is really good 80s pop rock. I can't say there is anything particularly remarkable here, but it's a solid listen.
Everyone starts somewhere. Would probably listen again.
Solid stuff
Love that review that says this album is more suited to dancing than listening. Kinda weird that it has to be stated that different people make music for different reasons. What a fucking bozo take lmao. Anyway, this album is fine. Track 5 was pretty fun and a neat departure from the rest of the album. Very Tron.
Interesting, but not my cup of tea. It sounds like it would find a platformer game at times though
Was concerned about this because I didn't much care for Joy Division, but this was more poppy and fun (and thus more me lol). Turns out the best thing Macclesfield did for culture was to kill Ian Curtis. #Maccpride First song was very good, stayed good. Not always sure about the lyrics
I gave this a listen without really being that engaged. I opened the website, all ready to write my little post about how I kinda like New Order, but much like with Jane’s Addiction, I find myself wanting to like it more, but it never really clicks. Sounds like a three-star and move on to me. But then I saw a review drop from my Project Partner. Five stars. Words like “soars” and “ripper” were used. Now, given other words like “cheerleader” have been used to describe his album reviews, five stars are not necessarily head-turning. However, I decided to give the album another spin. And Lowell and behold, after the second spin, I confirm this is a three-star album (in the context of this list).
Didn't hold my attention all the way through, but I liked quite a bit of it.
Excellent use of synth. But singing sucks and lyrics are often really awkward. I wanted to love this and couldn't.
I felt like I was going to dislike this record as soon as I heard the vocals on the first track, but I think the storytelling made up for it. The rest of the record was quite pleasant as well. Favourite Track(s): Love Vigilantes Least Favourite Track(s): Face Up
Monday, 7 September, 2026 Labor Day! Great first side. Second side is just ok. “Sunset” is a killer track.
Production bad, Whiney vocals, okay songs. I like it a lot more than I’m letting on, and if I was in a sad boy mood I would like this a lot more. It’s good despite those things honestly.
I hate Blue Monday so went into this with some trepidation and loved it. Sounds like a poppier Joy Division and almost like Cure at one point. Great sound and I could have given it four but didn’t feel it was one I would buy.
I liked but didn't love this.
I'm listening through 1001 albums mostly while at work. Great albums cut through the working stuff and make me listen - it's a five. Bad albums I don't finish - it's a one. Poor albums just pass by - it's a two. Solid albums make me run them 2-3 times throughout the day, just to give them another chance to cut through - some do, then it's a four, and some don't - then it's a three. This one is three. Solid, but I'd prefer Joy Division or Depeche Mode.
I actually quite like the electronic experimentalism of this album. Particularly the more ambient, instrumental tracks. Definitely a vibe and interesting for the time. What I can't get behind is the naff, low energy vocals. At times it is almost like he is taking the piss to see whether he can get away with it. Overall too poppy and annoying for me but at least they were trying to do something a bit different.
Some if this is good stuff but then Bernard Summer sings.
This started out very promisingly with Love Vigilantes, which was far and away my favorite song here. The rest just felt sort of annoyingly 80s synth whatever stuff. I mostly enjoyed the flat vocals, at least.
Eh
I don't think I recognize any of these tracks by title, but then again, I'm not very familiar with New Order in general. I believe this is my first time listening to a New Order album start-to-finish. This is what I expected. I'm just not a fan of New Order, and this isn't bad, but pretty meh. It all seems like it's more style than substance.
Mostly good
New Order was amazing in the 80s, totally relevant and exciting. Unfortunately I just don’t think this has aged well. Rather than being expressive of what music was like at a particular moment, this just feels a bit dated.
it's alright can get a 3 Will I listen to again: 20%
The vocals take some getting used to, but the music is classic 80's synth-pop. Fun listen.
it was fiiiiiiiiine
This is not at all my usual type of thing but for some reason it hit me. I enjoyed a lot of it.
I’ve actively hated all the techno-adjacent albums I’ve been served, but I like this a lot.
The music on this album is synth-heavy pop rock. You can definitely tell it's from the 80s. It's not super cheesy though, it has catchy hooks and that sense of dark urgency to it that sometimes happens in this kind of music.
Was a bit disappointed in this album. Expected more from a New Order album since I love their singles
Pas malade mais pas déplaisant non plus.
Sounds like The Cure - Just without Robert Smith. 3+
I had no idea Bernard Sumner was such a bad singer in the early days before the polish and maybe less taxing vocal range of songs like Blue Monday, True Faith and World In Motion. Objectively 2. But I came of age to New Order and this is a subjective list so.. 3½★
Me from college would have liked this more.
неизвестный для меня их альбом, звучит все равно неплохо, но скорее - 3
C'était sympa je pense qu'on est pas très loin d'un 4
This isn't the type of genre I would choose to listen to but to its credit, I enjoyed this.
Much more mid than I had it in my head for what New Order sounded like
6/10
ça va, quelques sons sont vraiment bien mais ils se ressemblent tous un peu ça mérite ubne deuxieme ecoute et voir ce que ça donne
Encore un parfait exemple d'un album que j'ai écouté 3 fois et j'arrive toujours pas a me souvenir de ce que j'en ai pensé, donc ça m'a pas marqué
Lost Vigilantes The Perfect Kiss Sub-Culture
Interesting, could well be a fan if i invested more time.
Very 80’s. Some of it sounds like The Cure. Lots of synths
New Order emerged from the ashes of Joy Division Vocals okay. Drum machines. Electronic instruments dominate. Dance music Best two songs are Love Vigilantes and Sunrise. Nice guitar work on both songs. Some good songs but still an average album. Three stars.
Better than some other albums of the 80s uk pop.
New Order habe ich in bisher nicht wirklich wahrgenommen und jetzt (neu) entdeckt. Es gab viel schlimmeres in den letzten Monaten zu hören.
This is good but there isn’t a lot that distinguishes it from other 80s British rock. You get Morrisey-like vocals, a tears for fears style synth ( with notably less use), a rhythm section that sounds like The Cure and lyrics that can’t stand up to any of those bands. I can’t deny this is good and it might be important, but you can’t deny you already get a fair taste of 80s British electro rock from this list and life in general.
Getting through the whole thing feels like being hammered by a sequence of singles which are a variation on the same theme. Not bad singles feels like a stretch to make it a whole album 3.4
3.2/5 - Not for me. I think the music is still objectively quite cool, but third track in and it all sounds the same to me. Fav Track: no preference, maybe Elegia but only by a hair
pretty good, but probably wouldn't revisit
A good album, i liked Face Up the most.
exactly what you would want out of 80s synthpop album. good but not very notable
This was solidly fine. Good background noise while doing other things but ultimately pretty forgettable.
Notable Textzeile: Now you must decide What good's a lie when you've nothing to hide? Maps they'll never show They're dumb like you, they never know It's time we said goodbye Musik aus meinem Geburtsjahr - ich sag nur in 1985, Orwell was proved right. Direkt im ersten Song kommt ein Telegram vor, herrlich anachronistisch. Ich würde gerne einmal eine Abhandlung darüber lesen, warum ab den späten 70ern so viele eigentlich irgendwie (Indie/Porg/Pop-Rock)-Gruppen so orchestral sein wollen wie hier z.B. bei Elegia. Das hat mich sehr rausgehauen, während der Rest ja recht klassisch strukturierte Pop-Songs sind, die alle über den Bass- und Gitarrensound unverkennbar JoyOrderNewDevision ist (während die Drums ja 10.000fach in den 80ern so klangen wie hier). Thematisch ist das eine bemerkenswerte Bandbreite von Vietnamveterangeist, Freund mit Knarre, seltsamen Nichtsnutzvermissen, Elternteilgoodanklage, Streit mit Freundesperson, Alleinsein und sich Fragen warum das alles, Jemand ist weg denn man bewundert hat und an den man nicht mehr denken möchte - oh wait… Klaassische 3
Had their other album about 3 weeks ago, and really enjoyed that. This album, even though I like the style, didn’t have as many cool basslines or mémorable songs. Also, the vocals were at times disturbingly out of key
I love them, first 2 tracks 5 but the rest of this album ehhh 2.5/3
2.5. Sole good songs, but really dislike the 80s production.
I enjoyed this. It was a nice listen but idk if I’d revisit it
Not bad, but not particularly inspiring.
I listened twice through and I liked the general vibe, but didn’t have much I’d deem memorable. I liked the instrumental Elegia halfway through for some reason. Light 3
Kinda catchy, kinda dated.
Pretty snappy. Nice wee gothy new wavy thingy. Enjoyable with supple lamb, mint jellies, and generous ennui.
Did not recognize a single song on here even though I've heard New Order before. Pretty good
Actually really enjoyed most of it. A couple of songs sounded like horrible karaoke, but most were pretty good
Interesting album. I didn't go as much for the vocals as I did the quintessential 80s drum machines, synths, and thumping bass, which were all excellent. Standouts were the opener "Love Vigilantes" and "Elegia," sounding like an 80s horror movie nightmare sequence I probably wouldn't listen to this much again, but I wouldn't complain if it was on. Not bad! 3/5
5/10
A bit inconsistent not my vibe. 8.6/10
Good album! Not a big fan of this genre but i know why its very enjoyed around the population! Very vibey and very dancey! Huge respect to the goths out there!
A whiny, weak and wimpy voice lets this down. I really wanted to rate this higher but however many times I listened just couldn't get past that voice. On some tracks, like the latter half of 'Sunrise' especially, the vocals were so indistinct that I could only just about hear his voice let alone discern the lyrics. Bad production? Others were often off-key and 'Face Up' was positively painful to hear. Give me a good vocalist and these songs would have been so much better as the backing tracks were all pretty good. Someone like Neil Tennant would do these justice. This doesn't sound like the same man who sang on the 'Blue Monday' classic. He actually appears to sing in tune on that one! I also had high hopes for the only instrumental -' Elegia' - but it started off as if it was going to build into something good but then just fizzled out. The whole album could have been great but ended up sounding like a weak cover version of the real thing and a frustrating listening experience in all.
Forgot to write review as I listened! This album was good - dirty, grimy synth pop. Elegia was a very lovely highlight for me. Just not sure I would listen again.
3/5 - I may not be a fan of this type of genre. This album was hovering around 2/5 until Elegia which I've heard and loved before as it reminds me of Chrono Trigger's soundtrack. Overall this is an OK album that I understand why people like but it just sits kind of average to me.
Yeah it’s good, a lot of fun, maybe a bit samey at times and feels like a lot of songs where new order are trying to bottle magic but keep leaving the lid off. Best song: Sooner Than You Think 3.8/5.0
It is OK, it's maybe their 4th best album. It starts strong with Love Vigilantes, but then it becomes pretty boring pretty quickly
It was better than I thought it was going to be but it was still that 80s sound I don't like - casio keyboard presets and a singer who can't sing
Me gusto, siento que vario un poco entre disco y y otras cosas, tenia buenos temas de la nada, y el resto normies pero bien.
Look. I’m like 900 albums in. I’m tired, boss.
Alright
Mycket synt, cool 80-tals vibb.
This is what I wished all discos sound like. It's softer round the edges and lacks some of the hooks of Joy Division but has its own identity. It's gloomy, moody but with an odd skip in it's step - a bit like The Cure. Whilst it didn't really have any stand-out songs the album as a whole works really well. Except 'Sub-culture' which sounds clumsy and amateur.
I know famously people do not like his voice but I really didn’t mind it! I feel like I enjoyed a lot of the songs and the song writing.
First and last track real good
3.5 a solid album with no major stand outs for me.
The music is great, Sumner (the reluctant vocalist)'s voice grates a bit here before he finds his more chilled tone. No real standouts or takeaways on this one other than the instrumental track.
노래가 나쁘지 않았다.
couple funky tunes
Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about new order. I do quite like it, there's just that 80s synth sound that I don't get on with as a rule that holds it back for me...... That's probably the reason people like it in fairness. The opening tracks were the best. Still going 3.5, but on the 3 side
Had some really strong spots for me then some really meh spots. Overall I liked the sound.
ITS NEW ORDER TIME! yet this album bought me down. it just sounds so… generic instead of sounding very “new order”. i’m sorry peter and bernard, but today is not the day that you’re receiving a score above 4. 3.5/5
Not too bad of an album, actually pretty alright. It sounds like something that they would play on the classic rock radio. Overall, it was fine leaving it in the background while I was doing other things.
If every song on this album was as good as the songs that bookend it, I would give it a five. But since they're not...3.76
Despite a couple of clunkers, overall this is an enjoyable listen of a band w its own sense of style and beats. But it doesn’t transcend beyond enjoyable…
Great grooves and riffs, but some of these songs are just too long I'm sorry. Favourites: Love Vigilantes, Sunrise, Elegia
Some really thrilling ideas every now and then but it rarely came together how I wanted it to.
501/1089 - Better than Technique but only because two songs had some parts that kinda sound like the Cure.
I was never a real New Order fan back in the day, but they are an undeniably important band from the 80s and I respect everything they did.
it’s ok? why is it on this list?
Fell off like halfway through then I just got kinda bored
It's got a lot of elements I like, but man, it's still that 80's sound that hits me weird sometimes. Started listening to the album as some background music during while getting ready for the day. Halfway through I put on headphones and i did like it a little more... But not enough to give it more than a three.
Prefer iron and wine's cover of the opening track. Liked this more than I thought I would. To be fair I thought I would hate this.
Fine enough synthy 80’s dance album that has some decent tracks and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The singing is a bit all over the board. 3/5
The singing on this is just terrible, I can’t get down with it. The music is great, for that new wave sound it’s probably right up there with some of the best, but how did a band with a singer that can’t sing make it this big? It can’t be a purposeful style to sing this badly.
-my first full New Order album. i definitely prefer Joy Division but this is great! for sure a standout among the 80s new wave i’ve heard, which makes since because it is New Order -would love to hear some more variety from them, i’m not sure how similar all their songs are -Favorites: Love Vigilantes, Sub-culture
I'm not crazy about the typical 80s sound with the chorus effect on the guitars, gated snares, synths, etc. Also I don't really like dance music. Other than that, it's not a bad album. The vocals could have been better maybe.
= the Beatles
classic new wave
Very strong
Good a little too synthetic and non dimensional for me
Kinda nice...
Sunrise + Elegia was a great sequence. The rest was pretty good.
Ihan jees. 3/5.
Meh, I generally like new wave but this album just wasn’t super interesting to me. I’ve liked some New Order that I’ve listened to, but this wasn’t my favorite.
Pop, Rock, 1985 -> 3
It all sounds very much like Blue Monday.
For some reason, I thought this was going to be more electronica than synth-pop. I kinda dig it.
This was a pleasant background listen. Sounded very much like early 80's new wave but nothing stood out as a classic song.
3.25 - A few songs in had me thinking this was a four star banger, but there were some lulls later in the album that brought the rating down a bit.
Nice little party in my phonehead. Tight, playful tracks that never let up. It's got this confident vibe without being arrogant. I could see this soundtracking a late-night dance-off or a road trip with friends. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Love Vigilantes - The Perfect Kiss - Elegia
Enjoyed this one quite a lot more than I expected to as I'm not normally big on synth-heavy music. But this was artfully done and with some enjoyable beats.
Ok, another 1980s British synthpop album appears! At least this band is actually decently known! Anyway, this album sounds almost exactly like I expected it to. While there are some quite engaging rhythms and guitar in addition to the synths and hooky songs, it mostly just sounds like all the list's other 80s pop albums. The vocalist especially is insanely generic, and so are the lyrics for the most part. The history of this band is probably why they're better known than most of the era's bands, as there's little difference in quality between this and, say, Soft Cell. I don't even think this is their most popular album, so I genuinely have no idea why it was included. Oh, wait, it's 1980s British synthpop, that's why.
Token new wave. Synth sins. Meh
I useta lump Blancmange, Depeche Mode and New Order into a bin of synth-pop bands that don’t really do much for me. Then Depeche Mode came up with VIOLATOR (1990) — which I loved — and last year I picked up an old Blancmange album on vinyl and liked it more than I expected. Given that, and my fond memories of New Order from friends’ mix-tapes and 80s alternative playlists, I was looking forward to this one. But LOW-LIFE doesn’t really add up to an album for me. It’s basically three great tracks (“Love Vigilantes,” “The Perfect Kiss” and “Elegia”) paired with 5 other OK songs. And taken as a whole this all just sounds too similar on a song-structure level from one track to the next. Too drony and repetitive and icily slick. Overall, disappointingly, these eight tracks just left me cold. 2.5 stars
Not the 80s vibe I was into. Interesting how the bass guitar is the lead, vocals not polished.
Not too shabby. I've listened to very little Joy Division/New Order and I expected this to be darker, but it was a lot dancier than I was thinking it'd be. I can see where a lot of later bands pulled inspiration from this.
Yeah this was exactly what I expected from this band. Not really surprising therefore, but pretty nice to listen to overall. It lacked a bit of variety but overall it was a good listen. 3/5
average good
Solid album. 3.25/5
A little bit of the Cure, a little bit of Depeche Mode. It’s not my thing but I can dig it.
Easy listening
This album will be over Sooner Than You Think. May leave you Face Up towards the Sunrise.
classic 80s synth pop
A couple of interesting electronica bits and then a lot of quite generic 80s pop. Definitely didn't feel as fresh/interesting/different as the Joy Division stuff to me.
Not bad electronic music but didn't find anything too stand out
3/26 Not bad
Når jeg hører sådan et helt New Order album, så begræder jeg endnu mere Ian Curtis’ alt for tidlige afsked med denne verden. Der er virkelig langt fra Joy Divisions post-punkede lyd til det her dansemusik. Jo New Order rammer nogen gange plet, og her rammer de også et par okay gode numre. Men det når slet slet ikke samme højder som Unknown Pleasures mm.
Good music but wow Sumner's voice is hit or miss
More upbeat than I expected. I think of New Order as doom and gloom emo music. Not exactly full of sunshine and rainbows, but energetic at least. They’re growing on me as a result of this project!
Songs I liked: - Sunrise - Love Vigilantes - Elegia Very moody, but some of it felt too soft to me. I liked it all in all.
Some great songs on here but has to be rated a 3 against the masterpiece that is Power Corruption & Lies.
Mér finnst að ég ætti að fíla þetta betur en ég geri, þarna eru element sem ég kann við, en heildin er ekki að heilla mig. Dreg þetta kannski ekki í tvist, en eigum við að segja að þetta sé solid 2,7?
Tosi modernin kuuloista levyksi mikä on tullut 85. Tykkäsin, paljon rokimpaa kuin mitä odotin. Elegia kanssa hieno instrumentaali välisoitto mitä tän iän levyissä ei nyt yleensä ole. Parhaat: Love Vigilants, Elegia
I enjoy the more instrumental songs, but not the more vocal ones. Frog samples were interesting
Not the best New Order Album, but OK.
Not for me. Didn't love the singer's vocal tone and the songs were too similar for me.
Brought me down a Joy Division rabbit hole, that was fun
His voice is very generic british 80s pop, however the synth does sound great. Elegia is really a cool song.
This reminded me of the cure a lot but they don’t do anything that special for me. Elegia was great tho I liked that one
It was ok probably just a three it's not offensive but it's not joy division
Now, hey! This is pretty solid. Very Smiths-esque, like a lot of entries on this list. I had no idea the Smiths had such an "imitated" style before starting the project, but there you go. It's a very distinct 80s-British sound, and it can be pretty hit-or-miss. The spacey, echoey 80s production can get pretty stale for a lot of people (myself included!). But New Order does something that few others do: they make the music reasonably catchy. Love Vigilantes? Groovy as heck. The Perfect Kiss? Damn catchy. But problems start to arise when the band compromises songwriting, memorability, and musical hooks for the sake of... atmosphere(?) and track length(?). Beginning with This Time of Night – the weakest track on the album – the quality gets a bit sketchier, and you really begin to feel the length of some of the tracks. Sunrise, though very exciting and packed with space-rock-esque guitars, goes on a little too long (without changing texture a single time) for comfort. The percussion is all over the place in The Perfect Kiss. Kind of a "fluttery" atmosphere. I haven't really heard anything else like it. This song is solid. Elegia stands out as the mellow-yet-weighty album centrepiece, the eye of the storm between Sunrise and Sooner Than You Think. (As an aside: what happened to instrumentals being the length of full songs? This slaps.) It's a relief to not have to hear Sumner's vocals for five minutes. They're fairly weak. Luckily they're quite low-energy in the song Sub-culture, which shines as a result. That track also uses the circle of fifths in its chord progression, which is always a win. 3/5 Key tracks: Love Vigilantes, Elegia
Should be 2.5 stars. Not a bad album but a definite step down from '83's Power, Corruption and Lies. As on 'Movement," N.O. sounds so unsure of its next move that it can't focus on the move it's making here.
The sense of separation from JD is probably complete here. The album is good, has some strong elements but fails to provide anything to set the band apart from others. There are echoes of the Cure, Depeche Mode. The vocals are a weak point, when on point it feels 'in tune' but more often it is not. The rhythm section does not disappoint while some of the synthesizer frills are awful.
I probably would like this album a lot more if it wasn't for his vocals little bit i don't know why a bit but there are a couple of good tracks, one of them being an instrumental. The opener "Love Vigilantes" is really a great track. "Sunrise" almost captures that spirit, but again the vocals drew it back. But the biggest standout track to me was Elegia", written as a tribute to Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis. It's a very emotional instrumental piece. It was featured prominently and *Pretty in Pink*, and featured prominently on the John Hughes mix CD box set "Life Moves Pretty Fast". It actually comes from a longer 17 minute piece which I've never heard in whole I need to check that out at some point. Honestly most of the music I liked it was mainly the vocals that just keep it from what could possibly be a strong four star album. (7.55) ★★★½
"Love Vigilantes" is an awesome song, but nothing quite matches the magic of the opening track. It's not all bad, but it feels a little bit like a let down after that. "Sunrise" is probably the song that comes closest to matching it. 3.5 stars.
At first, I thought this was just more uninteresting 80s synth pop. But the band name rang a bell. The music sounds a bit like The Cure and Sisters of Mercy, only less interesting. The exception is the track Elegia, of which there is also supposed to be a 17' version. I quite enjoyed listening to this album, but I won't be doing so again anytime soon. 3/5
The mid 80's had a lot of sounds I identify as "The Sounds of the 80's". Some bands were ahead of their times, like Bowie. Others were throwbacks like Ska and Rockabilly. This effectively ports me back to a certain time and place in 1986, mostly. Time travel does exist, in the vinyl between the tracks on this album. That said, if you don't go for this vocal style, it can be a hard album to listen to all the way through.
Not a bad album. I never went out of my way to listen to new order back in the day other than the odd track. I think some tracks sound of their time but some are inspired. Well worth a listen
No review, I was too busy at work
As emotional as the lyrics sometimes are, the style of music is just a bit too aloof for me to form a true attachment to it.
Arvet från Joy division är tydligt. Samtidigt är ju New order definitivt något annat. Jag gillar flörtandet med discodoftande klubbmusiken. Snyggt och rytmiskt. Allra starkast i inledande och avslutande spår. Hade nog velat ha lite mer hits. Något som verkligen sticker ut. En mycket stabil trea blir det i alla fall.
Great synth pop record, with music just as interesting and engaging as the Joy Division years. It is certainly a popier album, especially on the vocals so it feels like this band forever remains in the shadow of what it was before, but still quite enjoyable.
New Order are a strange band. The singer is terrible, the lyrics are often worse. The production also often sounds horrible. But they still regularly produce great songs that rise above it.
Not their best.
The most 80s music to ever exist
Not bad, but a pretty middling 80s sound. Not much grabbed me here, but it’s not a bad listen.
I respect new order much more than I like hearing them (Peter Hook especially is incredible). There’s good songs in there but the production just sounds ugly. I can’t give a band with such influence lower than a three though.
Their third album. Post Punk / New Wave. Musically I love this album. It sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, like many others, I can't get past Bernard's vocals. He's off key enough to take me out of the album. There is a moment on each track where I wince. A decent album but could have been much more.
Liked Love Vigilantes a lot and also Elegia and Sunrise were good. 3 of the 8 tracks were god awful
It was okay. I think I knew some of these songs from advertising.
I’m a sucker for synths, pretty melodies and lush arrangements and this album is flush with them. It’s very dated, but still slaps.
Nice mixture of their early stuff with dance vibes.
It’s ight
Surprised this is here. Not their best, for me, even if it is a really good album. Among their best artwork, though, if you get the original vinyl.
Many songs are really catchy and it’s a good example of a post-punk, poppy album. But it’s nothing I would listen to on a daily base. Maybe I’ll start listening to this genre more, thanks to this album.
super cool production. awesome synths and melodies. the guys voice? ehhhh. sounded like he recorded the songs acapella at the end of the day because he wanted to go home. kinda took me out of a few songs. after a while i got used to it but something about this album just made him sing not the best. 6/10
7/10
Elegia me gustó, por las demás no están mal.
Well well well. I know *about* this crew. I know the origin story. And I found that famous album from their previous iteration to be an absolute chore to even finish. I was not enthusiastic about this record & was not expecting much. And I found those expectations to be completely unfounded. This was not bad at all & in fact was pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. That geedee 80s synth sheen is such a turn off & drags the whole thing down. But not so much as to ruin the experience. Low-Life, good times. Tres estrellas
I ended up listening to this three times and still not really feeling like I got much from it.
Never heard this before. Very jangly and lofi, but quite good.
Enjoyed this with Sunrise and Elegia being the standouts. The bass always the highlight or New Order, the vocals especially when he really tries to strain and sing is pretty rough though.
Not really my thing. The 2 songs they played on the radio I did not even know the names of. OK I guess.
The synth was kind of nice, but somewhat forgettable to me.