Amazon.co.uk Review
New Order--the band that rose from the ashes of Joy Division after vocalist Ian Curtis took his own life--emerged from the post-punk permafrost of the early Eighties to straddle the pop world like a Dionysian disco Pink Floyd on MDMA.
Waiting for the Sirens' Call--the band's eighth studio album and the Manchester combos' second outing since 1998's resumption of duties--is hardly likely to ensnare the post-millennial zeitgeist. But that's ageism for you. Leaving the legends of yore aside, a dispassionate analysis of
Waiting for the Sirens' Call reveals two incontrovertibly classic new songs; "Turn" is a subdued but brooding successor to "Regret" while the title track--the sort of song that could soundtrack an entire summer--ploughs a lineal furrow right back through "Run", "All Day Long", "Love Vigilantes", "Leave Me Alone" and Joy Division's "Insight". Elsewhere there's a swathe of comfortably solid electro-indie rock cut from the same chiffon as "Brotherhood" or "Republic" and three quarrelsomely anomalous bones of un-New Orderly contention. The latter trinity--the brainlessly curt but catchy Stooges/Strokes stomp of "Working Overtime", the balmy indolent ragga of "I Told You So" and the effete "Jetstream Lover" (featuring Scissor Sister Ana Matronic) may precipitate fretful responses from the cognoscenti but at least these manoeuvres counter suspicions that New Order are treading water in a sea of circumspection. Yes, one senses that the guitar numbers flowed instinctively while the clubbier dance songs endured a more toilsome genesis (perhaps the songwriting balance has altered with guitarist Phil Cunningham having moved in to replace Gillian Gilbert) and yes, some numbers ("Guilt Is A Useless Emotion", "Dracula's Castle") are excellent but self-referential. Regardless,
Waiting for the Sirens' Call is an engaging, quality record.
--Kevin Maidment
CD Description
'Waiting For The Siren's Call' is Manchester-based post-punk veterans New Order's ninth studio album. This album is a marked departure from the rockier sound of previous album 'Get Ready', with the band returning to the more dance orientated sound of their earlier material. Includes the single 'Krafty'.
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