Republic

by

New Order

Edit

This album is now 12 years old- a scary thought for those of us who were around for the original release! So disorienting to think that much time has passed...

Anyhow, I rate myself as "moderate" New Order fan. I am familiar with more than just the singles they played on the radio, but don't own everything they ever released. So please qualify my review under this premise.

This album continues to get slagged by the hardcore fans, as you will read. But, I'd like to remind everyone how much music changed from the late eighties to the early nineties. Some of New Order's peers in the New Wave/Postmodern movement were The Cure, Depeche Mode, and Erasure. Consider, then, how each of these groups' early-nineties releases differed from the preceding album(s). The Cure's quintessential album, 1989's Distintegration, was followed by Wish, an album that signaled a break with the past sound. Erasure released their Wild! album also in 1989, which was their most brilliant use of synthesizers, and a fan favorite. Then, they released Chorus in 1991, another cult favorite. But, in 1994, I Say, I Say, I Say came out, a dreamy album that was gorgeous, but not as anthemic as Wild! or Chorus. Finally, after the zenith of the 101 live album, Depeche Mode had chart-topping hits with Violator from 1990, another benchmark album. But, a couple of years later, they decided to go grunge with Songs of Faith and Devotion.

Maybe we were entering a new cosmic age, but the sonic landscape shifted, and we lost that classic vinyl sound from our favorite New Wave groups.

After buying the new album, Waiting for the Sirens' Call, I want to buy Technique again, which I only owned on cassette. Regret was, and is, a wonderful song, a real standout on the radio at the time of the album's release. It was something positive and uplifting, which we could really use right now. World (Price of Love) gave them another modern-rock radio hit, but it always struck me as a bit generic, though still very tuneful. The opening of Spooky floored me the first time I heard it- that electronic voice saying "bass volcanica" (or whatever). I drove my sister nuts one day by rewinding the cassette over and over to play that part. Ruined in a Day is pensive and melodic, that blessedly features an orchestral sound. And Everyone, Everywhere is anthemic, with that guitar hook that won't let you go.

The rest of the album has its moments, but there is a vague sense of dissatisfaction after the end of it all. Still, for those of us who can't relate to the pre-manufactured manure filling the radio waves these days, Technique worthy at least of an occasional spin. Remember, New Order's second-best is far superior to anything we hear today!

Regret, the opening track, is the one reason you should own a copy of this album. It's the best proponent of uplifting melancholia that you will ever find in pop: a driving Hooky bass with defiant melodic guitar and wistful Sumner vocal.

The rest ranges from the sublime (Ruined In A Day, Special) to the ordinary (Liar, Chemical), if indeed you can ever talk of NO in that way. It's an album that refuses to open itself to you no matter how often you hear it, reflecting, possibly, the contrariness of its members. If you are new to New Order, check out their best album, in my opinion, Technique, which is the perfect synthesis of guitar pop and dance this side of the Pet Shop Boys.