This Brit band has been around since the early 1980s. A post-punk band that fluctuated between jangly guitar rock and heavy, synth beat, electronic sounds – the remnants of Joy Division formed New Order.
I recall buying my first New Order vinyl records and wondering how strange it was to have two very diverse musical styles, but somehow it worked. New Order didn’t follow an established musical path, they carved their own. One of the early CDs I purchased was Substance, and I remember having to convince my wife at the time, that what she was hearing was a trailblazing sound. The music prospered, but the marriage didn’t.
Recently, I decided it was time to journey back through their music. Honestly, I know little or nothing about the band members, it’s the music that speaks. Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert are the founders of New Order. All but Gilbert came from Joy Division.
Here’s a look at some of their albums. The italics indicates a track worth further listenings.
Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)
The band’s second release. Praised for being more energetic than their debut album, with a growing emphasis on synths and beats.
“Age of Consent” – one of their best known early songs. Fast, with a rock beat.
“We All Stand” – wiggly bass line. Slow, bluesy, like a dirge. Reminds me of The Doors’ “The End” or “When the Music’s Over.”
“The Village” – Trippy dance beat. Fast guitar picking fills, guitar also plays the melody on choruses.
“5 8 6” – Loopy synth and bass lines. Very experimental. Segues into a dance beat song, bouncy repeating riff.
“Blue Monday” – Another rousing, electronic synth dance track. The electric percussion is also trippy, driving the pulse but keeping it lively. Released as a standalone single. There are no guitars on this track.
“Your Silent Face” – A slower, synth ballad built on a variety of synth sounds.
“Ultraviolence” – More guitar to supplement the programmed beat. Fast strummed chords drives the rhythm of the song.
“Ecstasy” – a beat-heavy instrumental. Catchy, with a bouncy bass lines.
“Leave Me Alone” – A guitar friendly, driving song. Frantic drums.
“The Beach” – Straight-ahead electronic dance track, with only a smidge of vocoder vocals.
Low-Life (1985)
The third New Order release. In some ways a step forward and in other ways a step back. It’s a very uneven album. I like the guitar and synth paring together in some songs, the arrangements draw the best of each. However, the techno dance tracks fumble as much as they score. New Order would get better and more consistent. Their power synth songs would become the band’s signature sound. This was still a learning phase for them.
“Love Vignettes” Not a band mostly guitar track to open the album.
“The Perfect Kiss” One of the most recognizable New Order songs.
“This Time of Night”
“Sunrise” Fast guitar song, lots of acoustic and jangly.
“Elegia” Slow synth and guitar song, very much like The Cure.
“Sooner Than You Think” A mid-tempo synth and guitar duet. Very recognizable New Order song.
“Sub-culture” Full-on techno dance song.
“Face Up” Another techno dance song. Average.
Brotherhood (1986)
I was afraid that the industrial synth sound was taking over, but thankfully New Order hasn’t forgotten how to jangle, at least not yet.
“Paradise” Fast, jangly guitar song. Nice opener.
“Weirdo” Fast rocker with very loose guitars. Very melodic.
“As It Is When It Was” Slower distorted guitar song. A good listen.
“Broken Promise” Uptempo guitar driving rocker. I like the interplay between the acoustic and electric guitars. This was New Order’s original post-punk guitar sound.
“Way of Life” Mid-tempo grungy guitar song. Nice
“Bizarre Love Triangle” Unusual sounding techno instrumental song, mid-tempo.
“All Day Long” Mid-tempo synth and distorted guitar song. Instrumental.
“Angel Dust” Generic heavy synth song. It has potential.
“Every Little Counts” Slow, echoing synth song. Builds to a worthy conclusion.
“State of the Nation” One of New Order’s big singles, remixed versions sound better. This single was added to the album, not originally included.
Substance 1987 (1987)
A great compilation album of 24 tracks. Amazing release. The notion of remixing songs was not a popular technique, though it was being done for dance club versions and the like. Not a greatest hits collection, it did contain hits, remixes, B-sides and a couple of new songs. Listening to these discs now feels like opening a time capsule. These songs are from 40 years ago.
“True Faith” and “1963” are great new songs.
Technique (1989)
New Order’s fifth album. What’s often taken for granted in the mix is Peter Hook’s bass, which often provides the song’s direction and some crazy melodic “hooks.” He would later complain than the reliance on synth programming would almost render his bass obsolete. The band was settling into a reliable format, which can also be a forewarning.
“Fine Time” – Lead single. Praised for its energy and inventiveness.
“All the Way” – A guitar song with a driving beat. A bit jangly.
“Love Less” – Rock beat, softer, jangly, more guitar.
“Round & Round” – Stronger dance track, synth melody underneath the rhythm groove.
“Guilty Partner” – Rock beat, pulsating bass line. Acoustic guitar solo.
“Run” – A gorgeous song, melodic, with snarling guitar solo. John Denver got a co-songwriter credit after a lawsuit.
“Mr. Disco” – Highly original groove, one of the band’s best song. Heavy beat, but doesn’t get in the way of the melody and creative fills. The band has learned the secret of keeping the beats and grooves inventive.
“Vanishing Point” – Heavy synth, bouncy rhythm track. The song shifts direction several times, exciting each time.
“Dream Attack” – Again, the driving beat is new, the production allows for other instruments like guitar to take the spotlight and focus.
Republic (1993)
This album is a bit of a conundrum, it’s both revered and dismissed. Certainly, there were issues within the band, they admitted in interviews at the time, but the songcraft feels both solid, and sometimes weak. The band would remain apart till 1998.
“Regret” A great guitar-centric song. One of my favorite New Order songs.
“World” A spry, bouncy synth song with a wild bass groove. Another wonderful song.
“Ruined for a Day” I guess this is a slow, dance beat ballad. It’s not bad, in fact the arrangement has a lot of musical depth to it.
“Spooky”
“Everyone Everywhere” Blending an R&B groove and a dance beat works really well here. Sumner plays a Nile Rodgers’ Chic guitar style.
“Young Offender”
“Liar” Nice dance groove, robust choruses.
“Chemical” Hard-charging rhythm, a powerful beat. Not totally original, but what the band does best.
“Times Change” Hip-hop vocal.
“Special”
“Avalanche” A nice melody, and vocals by Gilbert.
(the best of) New Order (1994)
Here are a few tracks on the album that did not appear on other New Order studio albums or in a different form. The U.S. includes at least one song from each album, but many of the early songs here are remixes.
“Let’s Go (Nothing for Me)” from the 1987 film soundtrack Salvation!.
“True Faith-94″ is a new mix; much stronger version.
“Bizarre Love Triangle-94” another new mix. Better in my opinion.
“1963–95” (Actually the Arthur Baker Radio Remix) a remix of “1963” which was written for Substance 1987.” It might not be better, but an interesting mix of what might be their best song.
Get Ready (2001)
The last album to have the original four founding band members.
“Crystal” Right off the bat you know something is different. Less thunderous dance beat, more quirky fills and thrills.
“60 Miles an Hour” Where did the heavy guitars come from? The tune still has a beat (not really a dance beat), but it’s really more of an uptempo rocker. Lovely tune.
“Turn My Way” (featuring Billy Corgan) Great vocals by Corgan. More guitar. More room for subtlety.
“Vicious Streak” A downtempo song, nothing too fancy.
“Primitive Notion” Sounds like the old days. Frenetic guitar playing, and wild percussion. Doesn’t sound programmed, sounds played.
“Slow Jam” Repetitive rocker. A bit of a drone.
“Rock the Shack” (featuring Bobby Gillespie) – Production assistance from Flood. A rocker, in the tradition of U2. Fast.
“Someone Like You” More exotic guitar over a wild beat. Female harmony vocals.
“Close Range” Another rocker that uses a beat and some synth action, but the guitars have their presence felt.
“Run Wild” A ballad, acoustic guitar, a restrained beat.
Waiting for the Siren’s Call (2005)
Reviewers said this album was lacking in original ideas, repetitive and creatively dry. I found it a pleasant album, not groundbreaking, but more open and listenable since the industrial sound is dialed down and a little more emphasis on guitar tones.
Phil Cunningham joined as a touring member, then became a permanent band member as Gilbert stepped back to devote her time to family.
Who’s Joe?”
“Hey Now What You Doing” Nice bass and guitar interplay. It might not sound original, but it’s a great listen.
“Waiting for the Sirens’ Call” Jangly guitars, where did they come from?
“Krafty” Not what I expected. Not quite full-on Kraftwerk.
“I Told You So” Back to the heavy dance beat and industrial synths.
“Morning Night and Day”
“Dracula’s Castle” A really nice song. Measured synth attack.
“Jetstream” Familiar melody, terrible lyrics.
“Guilt Is a Useless Emotion” Very good track. Most creative musical execution on the album.
“Turn” Old school New Order. Very enjoyable. Guitar track.
“Working Overtime” More guitar rock.
Music Complete (2015)
This album is without co-founder Peter Hooks. Original keyboard player Gillian Gilbert is back behind the keyboards. Something is really different about this album, and it’s more than about the changing personnel. It might be the guests lead vocalists, and it might be incorporating more traditional house music cues. There is less guitar and more focus on electronica. Some of the tracks sound like the old band, while the last half sounds nothing like New Order, in my opinion. It seems as if they want to satisfy old fans while bringing their sound into the new age.
“Restless” – same formula, but updates with fresh hooks.
“Singularity” – Strong beat, yet not overwhelming. This sound would in 30 years ago.
“Plastic” – Heavier, slightly slower tempo beat. This sound could have been from Pet Shop Boys, with female backing vocals.
“Tutti Frutti” – Featuring vocalist Elly Jackson and female vocalists. A saucy disco song with disco strings. Very old school.
“People on the High Line” – Again featuring Elly Jackson. And the beat goes on. Very Euro disco.
“Stray Dig” – Featuring Iggy Pop on vocals. A menacing industrial percussion and disco beat behind the craggy voice of the Iggster.
“Academic” – Very old school New Order. The return of the guitar sound. Well done!
“Nothing But a Fool” – Another old school New Order song. Nice guitar work.
“Unlearn This Hatred” – Interesting melody on top of the beat.
“The Game” – With strings, and a more subtle beat, the instruments and vocals stand out. Not a great song, but very good.
“Superheated” – Featuring Brandon Flowers of The Killers on vocals. Average song.
Education Entertainment Recreation: (2021)
Live album recorded during their 2018 tour. These two CDs span the band’s history. It’s a surprisingly good performance of some complex rhythms and synth layers perfected in the studio. Honestly, I prefer the studio versions – actually, many of the remixes. New Order is a band that makes it harder on itself by crafting such intricate and original sounds. Reproducing it live only shows the perfection of the factory. Still, an enjoyable listen, even if I have already returned to the remixes.
Das Rheingold: Vorspiel
Singularity
Regret
Love Vigilantes
Ultraviolence
Disorder
Crystal
Academic
Your Silent Face
Tutti Frutti
Sub-Culture
BLT
Vanishing Point
Waiting for the Sirens Call
Plastic
The Perfect Kiss
True Faith
Blue Monday
Temptation
Atmosphere
Decades
Love Will Tear Us Apart
Update…
New Order has been quiet for a while. Their back catalog still sells, and their older albums have been remastered and rereleased as 2-disc sets with live tracks, demos and remixes.
Former New Order bassist Peter Hook continues to tour with his group, The Light, playing Joy Division and New Order in their entirety.
Ticket 2 Ride 
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