Words by Cameron Cook
Can I pitch a show to VH1 called I Hate the ’80s? Please? The pseudo-revival of the last few years started out as a dance floor-filling, goth rump-shaking, nostalgic smile-inducing good time; but the with recent mascara-abusing additions-the Bravery, Louis XIV, and the Killers-the whole reminiscent movement has begun to reek of Simon LeBon’s sweaty leather trousers.
Our most-recent offender is the Bravery‘s debut self-titled album, a collection of songs more insincere and pointless than the war in Iraq. The album’s only saving grace, relatively, is “Swollen Summer,” a glossy orgy of bleeping, buoyant synthesized stutters worthy of the most ferocious Bananarama song (despite sporting god-awful lyrics such as: “what if I’m just in denial/what if they come and cop my style”). The rest of the album, though, limps along the pop culture frontline beside the millions of other boring acts of the moment.
Lead singles “Unconditional” and “An Honest Mistake” try to be catchy, but only manage to tragically succumb to front man Sam Endicott’s inherent annoyance; and just try to listen to a song whose chorus goes: “Stop, drop and roll/I’m on fire” with a straight face. In short, the only suitable occasion to play The Bravery would be to subdue the rallying hipster massive, hanging out on Bedford Ave., or perhaps if you happen to DJ on prom night at Poseur High.
In the right-hand corner, we have Waiting for the Siren’s Call, the long -awaited new opus from “godlike geniuses” (as recently knighted by the NME), New Order. First off, let’s establish two little-known facts:
1) New Order, in the past, has written songs as good, if not better, than just about all of Joy Division’s collected works.
2) New Order’s last studio effort, Get Ready, fucking rocks, despite depicting what appears to be a Miss Sixty jean model on the cover.
So how does the new album match-up to the legacy? Well, at first, disappointingly. While the masses were hoping for this album to school bands like the Bravery in how synth-pop should ideally be tackled, overall, Waiting for the Siren’s Call sounds more like an attempt to blend in with the youngsters than set itself apart with age and wisdom.
One thing one might note about the album is that it’s, well, really happy; at least it sounds so. “Krafty,” pulsing along with Peter Hook’s signature bouncy bassline, features lead singer Bernard Sumner professing his love for planet Earth because it has “mountains, lakes and the human race.” The song manages to merge all of New Order’s signature traits (danceable beats, wimpy vocals) with the wide-eyed wonder often experienced by small children when given their first set of Legos. Could it be that, on the 25th anniversary of Ian Curtis’s death, New Order has let go of the gloom and decided to revel in the glory of their twilight years? If the record’s standout track, “Working Overtime,” is anything to go by, the answer is a booming, resonating “yes.” The song sees New Order partying like it’s 1969, Sumner getting his Mick Jagger on behind chugging guitar riffs that are vaguely reminiscent of the Stooges on happy pills. Obviously brilliant.
Some (myself included) may argue that New Order is slowly, but surely shifting in the wrong direction: silently coasting across a creative plateau rather than ascending back to the top in the frenzy we know they’re capable of. On Get Ready, Sumner admitted “we’re like crystal/we break easy,” but, as the new single “Jetstream” suggests, perhaps New Order has decided to “leave their baggage behind” and enjoy the ride.
