Rising from the ashes of previous incarnation Joy Division (the group’s original lead singer, Ian Curtis, committed suicide in 1980), New Order would combine new wave and dance music to become one of the most influential acts of the subsequent decade. Since their heyday, however, the group’s releases have been sporadic and lackluster—with albums like 1993’s Republic, 2001’s Get Ready, 2005’s Waiting for the Sirens’ Call and 2013’s Lost Sirens all released to diminishing critical returns. Dropped September 25, New Order’s new album Music Complete marks a surprising return to form for the band, as they reprise their classic electro-pop sound with a vitality they haven’t had in decades.
The album opens with “Restless,” a classic New Order song featuring frontman Bernard Sumner’s plaintive, everyman lyrics (“I want a nice car / A girlfriend / who’s as pretty as a star”) over a piece of propulsive, synth-kissed alternative rock. After the post-punk rush of “Singularity,” the album reaches a first quarter peak with the tracks “Plastic” and “Tutti Frutti.” The former is a piece of lovelorn alt rock spliced with a muscular Moroder-esque beat, the latter a soaring electro-pop collaboration with singer Elly “La Roux” Jackson. Jackson goes on to duet with Sumner one more time on “People on the High Line,” which opens with a touch of Chic-like chickenscratch guitar before seguing into another glorious synthpop jam.
After an interesting, if not entirely successful, Iggy Pop collaboration with “Stray Dog,” the album gets back on track with the post-punk rocker “Academic.” A band whose output has always teetered between club music and straight-ahead alternative rock, the second half of the album sees New Order making music more in the latter vein. “Nothing But a Fool” is a personal favorite from this portion, a song of lament about lost love beautifully realized with its driving motorik beat, back-up diva vocals, and evocative synth textures. After the industrial shuffle of “Unlearn this Hatred,” another piece of anthemic alternative rock in the form of “The Game” bridges the gap to closer “Superheated.” Featuring back-up vocals from The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, the track is a sort of “Bizarre Love Triangle” meets “Mr. Brightside”—evoking the highs and lows of young love with its driving beat, mawkish lyrics, and cinematic synths.
Some twenty-five years since their last great album, nobody expected New Order to make a comeback at this point. Yet, if not exactly re-inventing the wheel, Music Complete is a very good album—breathing fresh life into the sound that the group pioneered. Whereas most late-in-the-game albums do more to tarnish a group’s legacy, Music Complete stands apart as one that upholds it.