New Order truly came into their own with the release of Power, Corruption and Lies, seen by some to be their best album, including me. The title could imply this is a rather political, anger-fuelled record, yet it's anything but that. It's at times upbeat and melancholic, proves synths can be both danceable and wistful, and is much more reflective of the music the band would go on to make. In many ways, it's an improvement over Movement.
As I usually do, I'll mention the cover, and personally, I don't like it as much as I like Movement's cover, probably due to its art style. However, when compared to its more mechanical predecessor, Power, Corruption and Lies sounds more vibrant, and in a way, flowers are thus more suitable as the cover than angular lines could ever be. At times, they appear alive, yet some are also wilting - perhaps an adequate way to summarise the different moods present on the album!
Age of Consent is the ideal album opener - few openers are as emblematic of the album as this one. Hook's bassline is almost the opposite of what you'd expect from Joy Division - this is an upbeat track which doesn't dare to come close to slowing down, and is perfect for foot-tapping. Morris' drumming is brilliant as always, and whilst I don't understand what Bernard Sumner's lyrics mean (neither do I understand why this song's called Age of Consent), his vocals are perfect for this song. The synths though might be the high point here - on Movement, synths would act as background performers, and weren't as prominent as they are here, where they make the song even better. It's the ideal opener, and maybe the best song on the album.
We All Stand, on the other hand, is much slower and bleaker, dissipating all the energy that Age of Consent built up. The bass is now rather melancholic, and this is as close as you'll get to something Joy Division-esque on the album, down to the lyrics and vocals. It's certainly not a bad song, but compared to Age of Consent, I don't like it as much, partly as synths don't shine as much here and the mood can drag it down at times, but it remains a solid track nonetheless.
Optimism returns with The Village, a song brimming with joy right from the beginning with a buoyant electronic opening soon joined by Sumner singing about love, the bassline as strong as ever. It's a very warm song, one that's far from the bleakness of Joy Division (right, that's enough references to Joy Division for now). Yet it's soon brought to a halt, as the stuttering 5 8 6 begins. The opening's a combination of synth sounds which don't particularly do much for me, before it turns into a very danceable track not too unlike New Order's single Blue Monday, for good reason - if you like hand claps and synth pop, this one's for you. It goes on for about seven minutes and it's far from bad - in fact, it's really enjoyable - but compared to the other three songs heard so far, it doesn't feel as complete as the others do, as if it was never truly finished or they forgot to edit out the meandering beginning (or maybe I simply prefer Blue Monday). And that concludes a solid Side 1.
Side 2 opens with Your Silent Face, which is what I'd call a highlight of the album. Some synths swoop like violins, making it sound strangely organic amidst a backdrop of a repetitive loop of other synths. Sumner's singing is heartfelt, even if the lyrics are very cryptic, whilst Hook's bass occasionally rises to prominence. And as it builds up to an instrumental climax, it sounds increasingly hopeful and beautiful, as if the triumphant theme of a hero. It then fades into the silence, there probably being no way for the song to end without ruining it should it have halted - as occurs with most songs on this album to be fair (only the side closers do).
Ultraviolence is a nice bouncy track, one where the bass and drums are back at the centre, with the synths only able to peer over them. It's a good example of New Order's poppy style on the album whilst not shying away from rock (thus leading the burgeoning genre of alternative dance), with Hook and Morris especially taking a leading role here, the latter's mechanical playing complementing the role of the synths.
Ecstacy on the other hand is covered in swathes of synths that create a groovy instrumental, embellished by Hook's bass and Morris' drumming which contain the ordered chaos within. I call this song an instrumental - there are vocals wanting to escape, but what they could be trying to sing I'm not sure - rather, they're sirenic, merely forced to wail whilst the song goes on. And it could go on for even longer, but it fades out too abruptly for my liking.
And then you get to Leave Me Alone, the closer which does away with the excess synths and which truly puts the spotlight on the band as they create this moody, uncertain song. It's like the end of a long party and they're rather tired after all of it (metaphorically, of course, as the drumming maintains a vivid pulse and the guitar work is lovely to listen to). Sumner sings almost solemnly, almost a contrast to the ecstatic sound from a few minutes ago, and soon the song begins to come to an end, the band slowly finishing up before a final note is struck by them all, and that's the end of the album.
An album at times joyful and wanting everyone to get involved, at times wanting to be closed off from everyone else, Power, Corruption and Lies certainly deserves the plaudits it got - it wasn't another Joy Division soundalike nor was it an upbeat pop album - rather, it's almost reserved, not wanting to stand out but also not wanting to blend in. After this album, New Order went on to release Lowlife, an album which wants to be seen by everyone - yet Power is happy enough to be noticed.
A weird analogy, I know, but I'll conclude by saying this record is what I'd think of if someone mentioned New Order to me, due to how it mixes the sound of Joy Division with disco influences so brilliantly - and even if you're listening to We All Stand for instance, it doesn't sound too out of place.
It's a great album.
I've reviewed Movement here.
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