In the first of a series of albums to be released by what blackplastic would consider the grand masters of music (The Pixies and Primal Scream being two of the others) this year New Order get happy on our asses.
Waiting For The Sirens' Call is a strange one at first. Less progressive (in the literal sense, musical genres aside) than the under-rated Get Ready and more uplifting, this album sounds more 80s in style and is more upbeat, comparable to Technique. This makes the album sound as though it sound polished, yet the most noticeable thing about this LP initially is its lack of finesse.
Which is not to say Waiting... is bad. It isn't. There are plenty of moments that really shine through as pop gems and this explains why even Heat magazine have been dishing out the 5s. Hey Now What You Doing's pleading to the disillusioned youth to take stock really feels like it could get through, not coming off as the sanctimonious insult it could have been. First single Krafty and Working Overtime are pure 'music to quit jobs by'. There are also two stand out tracks produced by 80s don Stuart Price (a.k.a. Jacques Lu Cont). These are by no means as retro or highly produced as you would expect from someone who has 'Madonna's Producer' on their CV but infectious they are.
Waiting... is not the best album of New Order's career. It feels somewhat lacking in context. It will be interesting to hear if it still feels fresh in a few years time, and whether the lack of context blackplastic currently feels will translate into the timelessness from which the rest of the New Order back catalogue benefits. In closing blackplastic stands by a quote from the late and great The Face...
"New Order are just better than everyone else"