Low-Life

Sounds like pretty basic 80s synth pop. Not a fan of the 80s clap drum sound. Reminds me of Eurythmics but not as good. After hearing the whole album, I was just very bored with the whole thing. Also the singing was trying too hard to be that 80s synth pop sound.

Didn't care for it

Is it me, or do they always sound bored and out of tune?

Not my vibe. Tad boring.

12/12/23. First time listening to New Order so don't know about their whole discography, this one I thought was just okay. Dancy, jangle pop like from the 80s that's fun in places, but wouldn't listen to regularly.

not my favourite sound

Low Life: ein Nostalgie-Trip, der in der Vergangenheit stecken bleibt. Das Album, das einige für einen Meilenstein der Musikgeschichte halten. Ich frage mich, wer freiwillig solchen Schrott gehört hat in den 80s. Vielleicht sind sie in einem Paralleluniversum aufgewachsen, in dem der Klang von quietschenden Synthesizern und belanglosen Beats als Höhepunkt der musikalischen Evolution galt. Schon der Opener "Love Vigilantes" klingt, als hätten sie die Instrumente im örtlichen Spielzeugladen gekauft. Die eintönigen Gitarrenriffs und die lieblos zusammengewürfelten Texte erinnern eher an einen Schulprojektband-Auftritt als an echte Musik. Aber Moment mal, das muss wohl Kunst sein, die ich einfach nicht verstehe, oder? Fans schwärmen von Tracks wie "The Perfect Kiss", als wäre es die Offenbarung höchst persönlich. Ich frage mich, welche Art von "Perfektion" sie meinen. Vielleicht die Perfektion von schlechtem Geschmack und uninspirierten Drums? Die repetitiven Melodien lassen mich eher in der Langeweile versinken, als dass sie mich mitreißen. Aber der absolute Höhepunkt des Albums ist zweifellos "Eligia". Ein Lied, das so tief in den Untiefen der Belanglosigkeit vergraben ist, dass es schon wieder beeindruckend ist. Die Texte sind so kryptisch, dass selbst die Band wahrscheinlich nicht weiß, worum es geht. Aber hey, das macht es natürlich nur noch künstlerischer, oder? "Sunrise" erinnert eher an einen Untergang als einen Aufgang. Nur gefühlsduselige Heiopeis können diesem Geschrubbel etwas abgewinnen. Man könnte meinen, dass "Low Life" den Hörer auf eine emotionale Reise mitnimmt, aber in Wirklichkeit ist es eher eine Fahrt in einem veralteten Mazda 323, der bakanntlich das Gleiche Baujahr hat wie Low Life. Die Melodien sind so vorhersehbar, dass man fast die Uhr danach stellen kann. Wer braucht schon Innovation und kreative Neuerungen, wenn man stattdessen den gleichen langweiligen Sound recyceln kann? Ja, Moritz, das war Ironie. Überzeugen konnte mich New Order trotzdem nicht nachhaltig. Hängengeblieben ist auch nicht viel. Ich fand es aber alles andere als schlecht und gebe 2,5 von 5. LG

- Für mich hat keiner der Tracks besonders herausgestochen, nicht total schlecht, aber irgendwie auch nicht total gut - Es hätte gerne punkiger und weniger synthie sein können - Sunrise wurde mir vom schnackler wärmstens empfohlen, konnte den Erwartungen allerdings nicht gerecht werden Rating: 2/5

Boring version of Depeche Mode

The synths are exquisite but the vocals sound like karaoke.

-i don’t think i have ever listened to new order? -i do actually like this guys voice -are those…….bug or frog sounds???? in the perfect kiss???? -these songs are very interesting to listen to -idk i’m im really into it or not yet -i’m going to be so fr this is boring to listen to LMAO -some parts of some songs are fun and good but the rest is dull -yeah this is a two for me

Still not understanding the post punk thing

80s movie background music

Meh, not really for me

Musically curious, might have even been a 3 or a 4, but the guy cant sing for shit. It is genuine and emotional at times, but so out of tune. Id be interested in hearing a rerecording after the vocalist got better, because he certainly did, didnt her?

This album was not for me. It doesn't drive to anything significant. The only track I remembered was the 2nd and that was because I restarted it.

As someone who grew up in the grunge/post-grunge era, I’ve been conditioned to not like this kind of music. So I don’t

Wie erwartet für mich - bis auf zwei Songs - leider arschlangweiliger Synthie-Pop.

Meh

Forgettable softish rock. I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics though, they might have been better.

Didn't stand out to me in any particular way, but was good background music while I worked.

Boring album, plus I’m not a huge fan of synths.

Leider nicht mein Fall. Trotz "zeitgenössischer Produktion" wenig Charme. Lethargischer "Funke" springt nicht ganz über. Gesamtwirkung eintönig 2,5/5

Ear fatigue after 3 songs

All I hear is the Cure without melody Not too good

Not really my cup of tea: weak vocals at time, very 80s Favorite song: Elegia - cool synth/guitar Mashup. Good for a late night vibe

Something doesn't quite gel, is it just me, or is the vocalist singing off key? The music is marginally better. The sort of thing that gave 80s music a bad name.

His voice completely rips me away from how good I want this album to be. The second song is so cool in the beginning with its stereo effect but then his voice is just nails on a chalk board to me. Ugh. Give me this album without the vocals and it would be a 4/5. I commend Sumner for trying to take over as vocalist after the death of Joy Division, but there’s a reason why he wasn’t the original vocalist.

Not my taste. I appreciate the impact of this album as it was a complete change for new order but it is feeling dated now

Relatively generic, seemingly over produced. Nothing notable lyrically. 2/5 Won't listen again

Maybe I was just distracted by other things Friday, but nothing really stood out, I had a hard time really getting into it after the other great albums we had all week.

I've never really bothered to look up New Order other than their singles. I found their previous album, Power, Corruption & Lies, quite passable and with the obvious lack of Blue Monday on the original tracklist, the album didn't stick with me. And with no obvious hits on Low-Life, this album seemed even more daunting, especially with that non-descript album cover And wow what an awkward beginning. Love Vigilantes is an awfully awkward ballad, with Bernard Sumner proving that yes, he had to be coaxed to be the singer. Add in some awkward stomp rock drums and I fear some really dated music is coming up. Which is really most of this album: Bernard Sumner singing like the guy who had a few too many drinks at the karaoke bar, blaring synths, and I guess there's some drumming. The album tries to convince you its melancholic but really the fragrance I would give it is cheddar. The only highlights for me are in the middle, when the album sounds a-typical. Sunrise sounds like a sudden The Cure-cut and instrumental Elegia is nicely moody. This Time of Night is the only song where their melancholic mood works. Perhaps New Order isn't the band for me. I only really listen to two or three singles from them (guess which ones are the latter two because we all bloody know what the first is), and even with Joy Division I only play Unknown Pleasures. Feeling a strong 2 to a light 3

2, loses SO MUCH steam. I suppose bland has to be defined somewhere and this feels like a record that was copied to death after it's creation, and I can't appreciate the history and ideas that went into making this a record a nominee for this list.

Inte min grej och inte så minnesvärt helt enkelt. Inte dåligt men ja.

Sounds like a watered down Depeche Mode, some songs were good, others aged like a sandwich left in your high school locker over summer break. 🥪🥪

First listen: groovy (as in cool drums), a lot of the songs are highly repetitive with little lyrical and melodical content to keep it interesting but maybe that's the whole point. pretty cool spanky guitar tone tho. not my cup of tea at the moment

Annoyingly 80s.

I’m conflicted by this record. The highs are great. But the lows, man are they low. This record apparently marked the start of New Order’s transition to a more danceable style of music. I really can’t stand the electronic inspired dance songs. There are some songs on here that reminded me of the cure, which I really liked.

De zanger weet de verder aardige muziek goed te verpesten met z'n jankerige klaagzang. Jammer.

ehh

Don't understand the appeal of New Order at all, painfully average

I'll rate this the same as I rated their previous work in Joy Division. No major improvement. In like 1987, I had a Casio keyboard with a bunch of colored "rhythms" buttons on it. I feel like maybe these guys inspired the sounds that would play when I pushed those buttons. That's not necessarily a compliment.

It's the cure meets tears for fears. Not super impressed tbh

Meh! Sounds dated and, quite frankly, naff.

Kinda sounds like it was all home-produced. Three tracks in and there's nothing here really yet. OK, track 4 (sunrise) kinda bangs. Until it gets whiney. Am undoubtedly hearing a lot of Peter Hook on this and I'm not sure if I'm OK with that - the guy might be a great bassist but he's an absolute dick Serious bass drum on sub-culture but the whiney vocals and sense that this has been put together half-heartedly in a home studio really pushes through

Highlights: "The Perfect Kiss," "Sub-Culture," "Face Up" Musically it’s like if the worst aspects of The Smiths teamed up with the worst aspects of Bruce Springsteen and Duran Duran. Most of the album is so cringey not just because of the weak vocal performance, or how every member of the band seems to be dead set on ignoring everybody else, especially those dawdling guitar lines like something a child would play, but also because most of the lyrics are transparently evasive. It's full of this whining voice forcing inflated, obtuse non-descriptions of all these grievances in a relationship where he’s obviously the problem. It’s at its best when its more literal and direct, which happens to be when it’s about self-loathing, particularly the closers. I can see this having a similar appeal in the 80s to what Xiu Xiu did later; lyrically, it’s like if Xiu Xiu didn’t have problems and was just covering Taylor Swift subjects. Even in its own time, this is a hi-fi version of an album you could grab for free from a local band playing Tuesdays in a pool hall. Its popularity doesn't seem to owe much to its derivative and awkward sound, but to the fact that the world is full of toxic, self-pitying losers.

Some good tunes, but his voice + the lyrics I heard were enough to wish it was an instrumental

i’m very much not opposed to genre-bending bands in general, but i didn’t love this from new order. it’s them trying something totally different in vibe, and making something less good than what was (and is) available. still listenable, but not my favorite

Some highs and some lows on this 80"s album. Hard to not be seeing Wham or Boy George dancing to some of this but then the instrumentation pull in the right direction.

The album is so obviously from the 80s. Heavy synth use on top of more standard rock elements. I don't have major issues with it, but it doesn't hold up particularly well to me and this isn't my favorite era of music generally. At best most songs don't really stand out, and at worst the singer's voice is a bit annoying (like on Sub-culture). Maybe it just says more about my tastes, but Elegia (a 5 minute long instrumental) was the only song that really stood out to me on the album. Favorite song: Elegia

Best Song: Elegia. Very Stranger Things. As much 80s as I'm willing to tolerate. Worst Song: Sooner Than You Think. No all that worse than the other tracks, but that "solo" at the end really sucked. Overall: Classic 80s fare, in particular with its focus on a busy synth background and a lead vocalist who can barely sing. It is no coincidence that my favourite track is the one where he doesn't.

I don’t enjoy most of it. A lot of repetitive beats/synths.

Pop con sintetizadores. Para ser de 40 minutos, se me ha hecho largo.

Bunch of meh. That anemic 80s vocal just doesn't make me feel a damn thing.

kind of a weak album tbh. I’m also just not a huge new order guy but still. cmon

Gościu nie umie śpiewać, słabo nagrane. Druga połowa trochę lepiej, Ale jak New Order to tylko Blue Monday.

Meh

This post-punk nonsense is so damn bad. Only good song this band ever released was World in Motion.

just not very good, innit

Not a fan. The vocals were quickly fatiguing. 2/5

Not a fan!

Niet pour moi!

pretty generic british people music, innit?

This fits somewhere in the middle between The Cure and Depeche Mode, but it's not as good as either of them. The music is alright, but the singing drags the level down. It doesn't sound like an artistic choice to add character to the music, it's incompetence. The songs are longer than they need to be. There's probably over 1000 better records than this. Favorite song: the perfect kiss.

I'm running out of adjectives to describe bad vocals; have I tried 'atrocious' yet? I remember liking Power, Corruption & Lies, but maybe it was just one or two songs that I enjoyed, or maybe there was less singing.

Now I know where Adam Sandler got the inspiration for the bits where his character was having a breakdown in The Wedding Singer.

The guitar tone clashes too much with the other instruments for me to enjoy. Vocalist seems to constantly be dancing around the correct pitch. Almost sounds like someone singing karaoke. Overall a pretty unenjoyable experience.

Pleasant 80's sound

Didn't hate it but nothing really stood out for me. One and done.

Doesn't really grip me

Nah.

"The Perfect Kiss" was the best song. The rest was pretty formulaic new wave stuff. Nothing spectacular, but it didn't grate on me.

Not a fan

This album started out very boring but picked up greatly around the halfway mark. Sadly the closing track was not great either. The first 3 tracks were what I can only describe as background music. Tracks 4-7 were quite good, and track 8 was just ok. The albums middling quality is emphasized by the fact that I chose to describe it by which songs were good and which were bad. Not an album I think I’d come back to. 3.5/10

Blew a line of coke off a cassette tape for this one!

- Love Vigilantes is a banger but that’s the only track I’ll revisit

I'll reiterate, 80s stuff generally isn't for me

Lyden av melankolsk 80 tall er litt sær. Må si jeg er litt skuffa av de tidvis uinspirerte vokalene. Tekstens mening faller også litt flatt når låtene ellers er så repetetive

Fikk bare tid til å høre én sang. Den var litt rar.

Assets: "The Perfect Kiss" is a very nice eighties dance track, even though its 12'' extended mix is a far superior version of it--mostly because of the added guitars in its finale, drawing the whole thing to post-punk at the last minute or so. In this "album version", we fortunately still have that crazy bridge with.. frogs. Yes, *frogs*. But frogs can't beat a proper post-rock finale. At least in my book. Speaking of post-punk, that other cut "Sunrise" has everything in it that can make you fall in love with New Order (Peter Hook's incredible basslines being 50% of it, as usual). It's, simply put, one of the best "rock" tracks, Sumner and company have ever written and performed. As for "Elegia", it is very touching and evocative. This delicate and melancholic instrumental almost sounds like a post-rock composition, even though proper post-rock would only be invented 5 years later... Flaws: As good as they are, "Sunrise" and "Elegia" actually stick out like sore thumbs compared to everything else. Which brings me to the problem of this record, which is actually not merely about cohesiveness. No, the problem is that, sonically speaking, everything else is just so damn CHEESY (apart from "The Perfect Kiss", maybe...). *Low-Life* is indeed filled with the worst clichés ever associated to the eighties--you know the ones, those that didn't age well at all: gated drums, overmixed tom parts, hackneyed and/or dated club beats, fake horns on synths, lame fake-funky parts on guitars, and overly predictable and naive chord progressions played on grating keyboards... Shall I continue the list? Such a record suggests that New Order went from sounding like goth freaks to playing stuff that would fit in supermarkets and malls a little too fast. Besaides, you must add two other issues to this lamentable equation: first, their "linear" sort of songwriting--chorus and verses mostly sung over the same chords, which can be perfectly fine elsewhere--critically needs better arrangements than this hackneyed... stuff, as intricate and professionally recorded as the latter is. And secondly--and more importantly--Sumner is not a good enough vocalist (and lyricist) to make up for the overall bad taste that oozes from this overrated album. His voice is especially tentative and weak on this particular LP. If the music is decent, he doesn't need to be particularly impressive, as *Power, Corruption & Lies* or the "Blue Monday" single can prove it. Whereas in here, he just can't *sell* the whole thing to folks that are not already dead into that sort of dated sound. New Order would later find a *better* balance between post-punk tracks and dance cuts on the sadly underrated *Brotherhood*. Then, very unfortunately, they would find an even *worse* balance on the OVERrated *Technique* (BOTH sorts of tracks actually sound weak or even awful today in this one). But that's a story for another time, kiddies, probably when I give a 5/5 grade to *Power, Corruption & Lies*. In the meantime... Number of albums left to review: 731 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 132 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 65 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 73 (including this one)

I generally like New Order. Don't get this album

Had never heard this but pretty good mix of electrico beats. Quite a few songs a bit generic-The Cure" like. Vocals avg at best but overall ok

This album is a 2.5. Why are you listening to this New Order album? Love songs! Yay! They went from being a weird, off key depressed band to this strange abomination. The previous album is the only New Order worth listening to. If you too long songs about love that go synth in the dark, then, I guess this is your album.

Too much Brit pop recently, hard to let them stand alone. I guess it is their fault they sound so similar?

It was okay

Rating: 3.2 Best Track: Elegia

This could have been a phenomenal album, but the vocals are laughably bad. The singer sounded like a drunkard trying to keep up with the music based on lyrics he scribbled down on a napkin at the bar. He was off-beat and off-key and it just made it overall unpleasant. I get singers have "unique" voices (i.e. Thom Yorke) but this was just bad. Pity because I really dug the sound of the band.

Didn’t really like them….guess that’s why I never heard of this 80’s band. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Some pretty abysmal singing and writing, one extra star for the instrumental track which was actually pretty good.

Yeah...nah. I might have liked this much more in 1985.

I was never a fan of New Order. I always found it difficult to get past Bernard Sumner’s weak vocals. His best vocal on this is on Sunrise, where he sounds like he’s channelling Robert Smith. No surprise, therefore, that the track I enjoyed most was the instrumental, Elegia. A lot of British bands either sounded like New Order, or were desperately trying to at the time. But this sound never grabbed me.

Scattered in New Order's lengthy career are a handful of banging singles; Bizarre Love Triangle, Blue Monday, True Faith. But none of those songs appear on this album. I always felt that New Order were the emperor's new clothes.There's really not much there, covered over with a veneer of shiny dance production. The playing's not great, the songs are forgettable, the singing is average at best, the lyrics are banal... there is an occasional flash of energy (Sunrise or Face Up) or faux moodiness (Elegia), but not enough to lift this above a 'meh' rating for me. Bernard Sumner's guitar playing, in particularly, is irritating. Both singles from the album were remixed and edited for single release, and in the case of Sub-Culture, heavily over-dubbed. These re-worked versions are much imp[roved (esp Sub-culture, which is almost a different song) more listenable, making the album version seem like a rough demo by way of comparison. This album is completely inessential in my opinion.

2.5/5 Bester Song: Face up Aber seltsame Musik

не моё

Some fun guitar stuff but overall a generic sounding 80s album

Vond het wat traag, saaitjes. Soms wel wat stranger things vibes wat nice was.

Hard to believe the same band that wrote the absolute anthem that is ‘Age of Consent’ can churn out an album full of listless pop-rock. The instrumentals and melodies are serviceable at best, and the vocals (both songwriting and delivery) are godawful

2, was expecting more

Poo Order

Dis order

Want to love it but it’s meh.

2 Order

I'm becoming a fan of more 80's music, but this is the crappy side.

This was good but there was no hook for me.

J’imagine qu’il y a aussi Movement dans la liste. Celui-ci est un peu tard et sans grand intérêt.

This should be nobody's favorite album. The best song by far is "Elegia" and no other track sounds similar to it. It's possible this album was once innovative, but it is boring today.

on the one hand I want to give a low rating, but on the other hand, this is a good album at first I didn’t like anything, but a couple of songs make me think a little about my words, scans above, well done, old fonk? it reminded me a little of the cure and devid bowie

Lyrics like "I have always thought about / Staying here and going out / Tonight I should have stayed at home / Playing with my pleasure zone" make me wonder how Low-Life made it onto the 1001 Albums list... What shines beyond the nonsense lyrics, however, is New Order's mastery of synth pop. While no Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, Duran Duran or Kraftwerk, Bernard Sumner certainly sits comfortably amongst his peers on this record. Still, not worthy of 3- or even 4-star praise...

Somewhat forgettable, but enjoyable in the moment. Like the 80s.

This album didn't really strike anything with or in me. It was okay, but I was ultimately pretty underwhelmed. The one track that piqued my interest was the instrumental track, Elegia. It was such an odd but great inclusion that really highlighted and brought to light the dark wave qualities on this album.

The synth / high male vocal combo that typifies a lot of 80’s pop is here in spades, with relatively little to differentiate itself from the pack.

The "singer" can't sing shit. They act like they don't care about it but sometimes it sounds like the only purpose of the music is to cover up those enerving squeaking and out of tune half-screams with some terrible results.

New Order’s “Low Life” started with “Love Vigilantes,” which momentarily gave me hope. It was /that/ 80s post-punk/new-wave British vocal that I’m so sick of, but the exaggeration and accent was muted a bit. Plus, the concept of love vigilantes sounded intriguing, perhaps making me more receptive? But then it turns out it’s not about love vigilantes at all. It’s about a soldier returning from Vietnam to find his wife thought he was dead and committed suicide. Well that’s depressing. Interesting, and playing on several story archetypes, but depressing. I’d be more interested in love vigilantes who went out and violently defended people’s right to love. But these Brits “decided to write a redneck song” (their words), so they wrote a sad story about a Vietnam vet. After the aurally tolerable “Love Vigilantes,” everything else went downhill along with the mood the lyrics left me in. The rest of “Low Life” is exactly the kind of British 80s post-punk/new-wave that is a big turn-off for me. It wasn’t all bad though - I liked the guitars in “Sunrise” and the instrumental “Elegia” was good on its own and spared Bernard Sumner’s voice.

This would be an easy 3/5, the tunes are kinda easily-digestible 80s new wave/synthpop and some of the melodies are pleasant... but the singer is terrible. wtf? he's completely out of key and then makes it worse by being whiny as well. It's actually pretty baffling just how bad the singing is. How on earth did this band ever see success with a singer THIS AWFUL? I thought I'd just get over it for the space of this album, but after about 3 songs I started to struggle. It's a shame, because in theory I should like this a lot more. 2/5.

Love vigilantees

Pretty neat little indie music from a forgotten era (the fucking 80s).

Thankfully this was a short album. I enjoyed the audio only track the most. The rest was just not interesting at all.

This is bland english dance pop right in the front. Face Up was probably the only track that I found interesting.

Oof. I like a NO song here and there but this album's boring.

Love Vigilantes - not for me The Perfect Kiss - Disco - good bassline at the end This Time of Night - Dark - nice! Sunrise - OK, quietly babbles in the background Elegia - very nice! Sooner Than you think - OK Sub-Culture - Cool, but bad singing. Face Up - Nope. 2/5

Me voy a quedar con la 1o 2 comercialonas que les conozco

Pop con sintetizadores. Para ser de 40 minutos, se me ha hecho largo.

Boring. Just not my thing.

typical 80s stuff. only the instrumental song is good

This was a weird one, an album of extremes. The tracks I liked I really liked, the ones I didn't the opposite. Sadly, the latter had the majority.

A times it sounded a bit like the cure but nothing really of note

Generic ‘80s sound. Some sounds reminded me of Queen and U2.

Maybe I missed something?

Not my case. Only reason this has two stars is because "Elegia" wasn't half bad actually

Bunch of meh. That anemic 80s vocal just doesn't make me feel a damn thing

Thought I'd like ...but not impressed..dated...in a not so good way

This was a pretty boring album with the same melodies in most of the songs. Very synth-pop and very 80s so not really my cup of tea. One song was kind of... not bad.

Only got to listen to a little of this. It’s fine, but not really my style.

Fairly standard 80s pop.

meh

Bernard Sumner's voice left a lot to be desired. Not too sure if it was the production that hampered it, but it felt very whiny to me. I did enjoy the instrumentals on all of the tracks particularly Elegia. They have a very distinctive 80s sound, with their use of synths throughout. Best: Elegia Worst: Face Up 2.5 Stars

This felt so 80s. Synth/dance/pop-rock. Was a fun listen.

Tbh, not nearly as good as I thought it would be. Lacked any substance to me. Some were alright but overall quite underwhelming on the whole.

bad bad not good

This album started out as somewhat bearable but then got worse and worse from there. I tried listening twice. I don’t think I got past the 6th song.

Not for me. It was very 80’s. If I had to choose, I think Elgia was the best song.

Started out so strong, but then just turned into any other album from the eighties...

Meh

Did nothing for me.

Hi ha un grapat de cançons de New Order que formen part de la meva vida, les més conegudes, imagino que com a molta gent li passa. He agafat aquest disc amb ganes, la primera cançó m'ha entrat molt bé. Però després ha anat caient i caient i se m'ha fet pesat. Potser un dia li dono una altra oportunitat, però en general l'experiència ha estat decebedora.

mehhhhhh

Disappointing

Meh not really my thing. Not bad but nothing exciting.

I don't like New Order...except for Elegia.

Seems like another Talking Heads wannabe. So many average bands with MIDI drums and semi-edgy lyrics. Not super impressed.

Forholdsvis svakt, ingenting som utmerke seg. Bare typisk 80s sound. Meh

Ok

mhnm

No jaah, vika biisi oli ihan vekkuli

Kind of hard to get into after listening to lot's of Joy Division. Pretty Disneyfied.

I was today years old when I learned that one of my favorite Iron & Wine songs is a New Order cover

Meh

Awful.

So... I felt like giving this a 1/5 would be too mean. But NOTHING about this intrigued me, I'm sorry! It made me question if I even enjoyed synthpop or new wave or whatever this is called. It made me go back to the Heaven 17 album I gave a 5/5 just to make sure I still love it that much, and sure, maybe that album just hit me at the right time, but I still really like it. I did not get a single thing out of this. But to be honest, I kinda feel the same way about Joy Division, so...look out for when that comes into my rotation.

Can Bernard sing? 1/5

Yhyy

This exact type of 80s British rock frankly kind of pisses me off. It’s both the vocals and instrumentation together that create a really just unlistenable sound. I want to like it but it’s honestly not my thing and the only song I relatively liked on this was the only instrumental song. Not gonna be coming back to this one.

Honestly. There’s not much I can say about this. It just didn’t hit me in any way shape or form. Just no.

I like this band but I don't like this album

If this is New Order I'd hate to hear the Old Order. This album is the sound of rain ruining a picnic. It is completely uninteresting to me.

That singer's so pitchy he should've gone into baseball

I love New Order, but this is not a good album.

Dreadful out of tune sounding singing combined with twangy non interesting tracks. What happens when the frontman loves the sound of his own voice.

Extremely forgetable 80's synth album.

I’ve listened to New Order before of course, think I even have a vinyl of theirs somewhere. But this ain’t my bag. I almost liked Elegia but it just felt like it didn’t go anywhere? I’m not here for middle of the road non-committal weekend-dad Rock. In the end, I could manage with sub-culture and Face Up but this won’t be an album I reach for again, and certainly wouldn’t be in my personal list of must-be-heards!

Shite.

Not for me

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.

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

Not so good, Al.

Honestly can't tell it's not the Cure

Meh

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

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).

- Zeer zagerig - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM

This is why I worry about the English. they really like this band. And Echo and The Bunnymen as well... please, please, no more of this.

New wave music....why is there so much of it! This is like the marriage of mid-80s Cure and INXS. Which I guess means better than 90% of New Wave music? They definitely took a slightly darker direction on this album. This Time of Night could be a Cure song, in fact for all I know it is a Cure cover. Elegia sounds like they saw Nightmare on Elm Street and thought that would make a kick-ass song. Of course it's in Stranger Things, or as I like to call it, Generation X nostalgia porn. This sounds like midi files. Face Up is the worst song on the album to close things out.

wasn't my vibe... i tried

Musicalmente la tontería más grande del universo. La instrumentación es insoportable. El rollito de coqueteo con el fascismo es directamente para desterrarlos del planeta. Sin embargo las canciones están bien para poner de fondo mientras tu hija llora porque así el llanto parece lo más agradable de todo. Es lamentable, música para snobs y gente de sexualidad no aceptada.

Nothing to say beyond awful.

Not memorial and kind of just junky 80s dance music. This album should be on the 1001 albums to demonstrate how musicians fell off rather than anything good. Stick with the Joy Division or earlier albums.

I never understood this stuff. Bad singing. Not much in terms of dynamics or melodies. As a musician, I’m not impressed. Amateur crap

There are a few songs that could be decent if they got rid of their lead singer. My god he is horrible.

Elegia war nice, ansonsten nicht so meins

This is the hundred sixth album I’m rating. Don't know who they are and this is the first time I'm doing this not on my phone. Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. Not Adding to my Playlist - Love Vigilantes, The Perfect Kiss, This Time of Night, Sunrise, Elegia, Sooner than you Think, Sub-culture, and Face Up. All in all I liked 0/8 songs. Like The Human League but bad.

This was just so boring. I'm one of those people who is not susceptible to yawning when I see someone else do it, but this kind of music always makes me yawn uncontrollably. And I have to point out that "Sub-Culture" & "Face Up" are just miserable songs. I absolutely hate them. I was going to give this 2 stars until I heard those two.

This is awful 80’s pop

This sucks. It's mostly the vocals.

DNF

Non coinvolge, non fa per me

The first song was promising but it went quickly downhill from there. Unfortunately the 80s sound just sounds so dated, more so than older music which can sound timeless. I think because of that music like this is does not have the staying power of music without such a distinctive era based sound. It also means that if you are like me and do not enjoy thie sounds of this time period all the music sounds so similar and unenjoyable.

Pop sellout garbage. I was in a wannabe-joy-division punk band in college. I was excited for this one, really! Someone needs to bonk this guy on the head and remind him he's a terrible singer, and that was OK in previous albums. This is a must-listen as far as it is a warning for any artist getting too big for their britches and think they're hot stuff.

I understand why Joy Division itself could no longer continue but I can’t believe they gave up Punk Rock for this crap.

Irritating synthesizers, clapping machines, cow bells.....tedious listen.

This started... interestingly. The singing is really bad. Like really bad. The music is really hit or miss. When it hits, it's really vibey and enjoyable. Plus, it covers the bad singing. When it misses, though, the album becomes a really tough listen. Everything does magically come together on "Sunrise". It ends up easily being the best song on the album and is actually a really good song. "Face Up", on the other hand, ends up being so incredibly bad, that I think it's on a short list of worst songs I've ever heard in my life, and undoes any goodwill the album earned through those good moments. I'd rather go deaf than listen to that song again, unless I'm doing it as a joke. Favorite Song(s): Sunrise

Ugh. Didn't finish.

"displaying the moment they completed their transformation from post-punk hold-overs to dance-rockers" -- all genres I dislike

nao

No. 1

Waiting for the high life after that

Depeche mode from wish

So 80s pop

Not my thing. To electronic.

bad

p541. 1985. 1.5 stars. Annoying and whiny Mancs discover dance music and synths. They only have two songs, and they are spread very thinly over 40 minutes. And Bernard Sumner cannot sing. At least it is short.

Nope

Yuk

Nunca me enganché con New Order y toda su familia circundante. Tampoco ahora. Aparentemente no es para mi esa cosa lo-fi.

This one wasn’t for me. I quite like the instrumental track. I quite like that the bass makes it sound like The Cure sometimes. But otherwise, I was just waiting for it to end.

Not my cup o tea. Reminds me of "the cure" but not a fan of the vocals.

Classic 80s electro pop sound, but with some terrible singing thrown in.

I tried...but this album is shit

Boring

I really don't like this at all. The melody is really repetitive and the songs are long. The singing is mediocre. There's just no rhythm to any of it. It feels like a set of classic bad 80s songs, where's a bunch of repetitive techno and no god damn soul to any of it.

I like some of NO's songs, but this album is u listenable for me, especially thanks to the production but also Bernard Sumner's surprisingly insecure vocals.

I bought this album at the time but consider it the beginning of the end in terms of creditability. Power, Corruption & Lies was the perfect hybrid of styles but by this time they'd really started to get swallowed up whole by synths, drum machines and insipid lyrics. They're like the hollowed out shell of a once great band. It's horrible and soulless.

Standard 80s. I just couldn’t. Not on a Friday at work. Is that unfair to the album? Maybe. But I don’t care. The album already knows its socioeconomic status and is self aware enough to proclaim it boldly on the cover. I wish the music was just as bold.

rip new order you would’ve love soundcloud.

I didn't much care for this album although I do like New order.

Crappy, shallow, Casio-demo, bullshit synth, britpop. It's worthless trash and I'm mad I had to listen to 40 minutes of it.

Shite. He can’t sing

Terrible

Nearly unlistenable boring garbage

Low-Life is better than Technique but New Order were crap, and this proves it. Another 1.

Hatte ich New Order nicht mal gelobt vor einiger Zeit? Ich kann diese Platte nicht hören. Belangloser Achtziger-Pop.

Wow, I really hated this guy's voice. It just sounded nasally and whiny. The instrumentals and synth were okay, I guess, but they didn't do much of anything to redeem the album. I listened to the whole thing and I hate myself for it.

No ty

Wack

I couldn't pick a song I liked. Not for me.

My mom said if I don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all.

I hate that hangover voice

didn't like it at all

Just a laughably bad album. No notable songs and better singing could be found in the NYC subway. Also, sounded like the album was jumped around genres? 2/10.

I don’t remember

I really have a problem with New Order's sound.

It was bad, my 4 year old liked to dance to it.

Didn’t listen to it all because I just couldn’t deal with it.

80er.

did not like

not good

Lazy 80s

A classic.

First impression is overall very disjointed from track to track, and felt like it was trying to do too much at once. It opened with a Madchester sound, then moved into some dance tracks with an attempt a crooning vocals that were really more cawing. then some brooding dance tracks, upbeat post-punk jangle, instrumental intermission, then more dance-y wailing stuff. *Also, for a 2015 remaster the production quality seemed lower than I would have expected.

Decent.