New Order released their second post-reformation album, Waiting for the Sirens' Call, amidst Gilian Gilbert's departure from the band to care for her family. As a result, Phil Cunningham, who worked with Bernard Sumner in his Electronic side project, is now on guitars and synths - otherwise, the band remains the same as before. Indeed, this album is very much like Get Ready, except it more or less makes the electronic rock electropop; including a singer from a chart-topping pop band should be proof of that, and I am left mostly with mixed feelings.
The album art is as minimalist as you can get, and I personally think it lacks an identity. Even the font isn't playful - I can't say much about the cover, except that it doesn't convey anything. Technique perfectly summarises the Ibiza house influences, Get Ready is immediate, whereas this one's more like a book cover. Personally I'd rather the two were distinct.
Either way, New Order begin their eighth album with a hard-hitting question - Who's Joe? Strings and bubbling synths soon give way to an okay track, Stephen Morris drumming well as always, and the chorus is the highlight of a song which reminds me of skiing adverts. It's very spacious, and when compared to Crystal it's definitely a more laidback, if not unambitious, opening song. It's also quite long and ends so abruptly, just as we're building to a new section, that it's simply not the best song to open an album. We never find out who Joe is in the end, though apparently it's a reference to Jimi Hendrix.
Hey Now What You Doing was used in a washing machine ad, and it's distinctly polished and more alert. Fewer synths here, with absurd lyrics, as expected, culminating in an upbeat chorus, and proves Peter Hook can still deliver great bass lines, alongside some nice guitar playing. Otherwise it also doesn't speak to me.
Meanwhile, the title track and single is better - motorik drumming, a lovely bass, fleeting synths, and Sumner delivers a great vocal performance, making for a good post-punk song. However, it continues the overall trend of the tracks lasting longer than they should, which does allow for some lovely instrumentals, even if they lose their appeal quickly.
Krafty's the lead single and opens with foreboding synths and bass, though it becomes a standard pop song by the chorus - the ending, with its twee electronic solo, is quite good sans the chorus (New Order do enjoy repeating them) and I thus consider it decent - catchy if typical. I Told You So, however, has blocky synths creating a holiday atmosphere which is right at home in nightclubs. There's a lovely guitar flourish after the first chorus and descends into more interesting territory than the other songs so far, though Sumner's vocals lack the expressiveness such a song needs. And somehow we're halfway through, with only one song shorter than five minutes.
Morning Night and Day starts with cool guitar effects amidst a techno rhythm, but the chorus makes it standard dance-rock, and I wish it was more ambitious and pushed towards synth chaos. Otherwise it's catchy and has nice instrumentals dotted through it, and I feel it would be better if it was a bit shorter. Dracula's Castle similarly starts out techno alongside some nice piano but becomes rockish, and perhaps I like Technique too much but I wish they'd channel those house influences more - they're more inventive and would ensure the songs don't blend together.
The next track, Jetstream, was a single and has Ana Matronic as co-vocalist - it's okay as a duet I suppose, the disco-esque synths are good, and the band in general put in a good instrumental performance...but otherwise it's pop which goes on for far too long. The song itself isn't all too different from what's come before and as such it doesn't speak to me. The chorus especially is grating, what with the "J E T" chant, and when accompanied with the other lyrics means it's catchy but irritating.
The heartbeat beginning Guilt is a Useless Emotion builds with a catchy synth beat, before becoming bright electropop that reminds me of 2010s pop, down to the backing vocals precipitating a beat drop - and Hook's bass still fits in well. I'm not a big fan of this style, but at least it's a break from what's come before - all energetic, bringing back much needed energy. Turn meanwhile is more subdued and reminds me more of Technique, coming with lovely guitars, with slight nostalgic undertones for me. Perhaps it's like the songs from before, but following the drastic shift of Guilt, I appreciate it more, which sums up my thoughts on the album - the writing is often good if overdrawn yet often feels cookie-cutter.
Working Overtime is a full on rock song, full of energy and Britpoppy guitars, but doesn't speak to me either - it feels derivative and strays too far from the Sirens formula; either way, a song like this should start an album, not end it. It too also suffers from a poor chorus - just "overtime" repeated until you're uncertain whether it even is a word. And the album ends here, New Order's longest to this point, after 57 minutes.
Waiting for the Sirens' Call isn't a bad album - the instrumentation is solid, even if it's not as captivating as New Order's other albums, and is punctuated by moments that cause you to truly take notice. But the songs themselves blend together into a lengthy piece that's at times too safe, at times too long. I suppose the best part of the extended tracks is that they highlight the best part of New Order - the musicians - but otherwise I don't think I'll be returning to it any time soon.
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