Waiting For The Siren's Call by New Order

June 04, 2005 | 9 Comments

The Artist: New Order
The Song: Dracula’s Castle
[Launch Player]
The Album:Waiting For The Sirens Call | Buy it from iTunes
Released 2005
Recommended if you like: Interpol, The Killers, The Faint, Bloc Party, Stars

New Order was my favorite band for quite a few years back in the mid 80s. I remember getting Low Life on tape when I was about 15 years old and I played it until it broke. Over the years I had a love/hate relationship with New Order as I had a hard time with some of their later 90s music.

It’s not that I didn’t like it, I did. It just wasn’t my New Order and it took me awhile to get used to. See, while they were known for some pretty hard driving club tunes, I felt they were going a little too electronic. I mean, you’ll notice that Peter Hook and his (in my case) life changing (I was a silly teenager) bass hooks are almost absent in some of those later works.

I was very pleased, however with their last release, Get Ready, even if it wasn’t quite the New Order of old. Waiting For The Siren’s Call is in a similar vein, but there is a bit more of the old in there, as is evidence in tracks like “Dracula’s Castle” which is downright Low Life-ish in spots.

Bernard Sumner sounds great and even the 90-ish club tracks are pretty good. Much better than most the crap out there anyway.

If you’re into New Order, you’ll probably be pretty pleased with this latest release. It’s a nice mix of the old and the new and there are few tracks that are really great. If you’re not an old time fan of New Order, pick this one up, then do your self a huge favor and get some of their early releases.

Filed under: Album of The Moment
Keyword Tags: new+order waiting+for+the+sirens+call music peter+hook

Comments

1. Richard Kendall said:

It was after hearing 1983’s ‘Power Corruption and Lies’ that I was interested in New Order, there was just something different that stood out. But they were never the same after 1989’s ‘Technique’, the original Indie meets Ibiza album. They lost the cutting edge that they had in the 80’s, all driving axe-bass, blistering drums and searing electronics. The Joy Division darkness has dimmed, but you’re right, there are some good moments on the new album, but I’d have loved to have seen them at their height. At least their legend lives on through Bloc Party, The Killers etc.

Posted on June 4, 2005 01:39 PM | #

2. Mike Steinbaugh said:

This new album is tight. They still sound great live too. I saw them in 2001 on the Area:One tour and this year at Coachella. In my opinion, the best song on the album is “Morning Night and Day” followed by “Jetstream.”

Posted on June 4, 2005 05:09 PM | #

3. Scott said:

Please, please tell me you like Joy Division!

Posted on June 5, 2005 09:55 AM | #

4. Keith said:

Scott – I like Joy Division.

Posted on June 5, 2005 01:40 PM | #

5. Ryan said:

I love New Order, especially their last three CDs. in particular Republic. If only they’d come closer during their tour, 700 miles is a long way to go for a concert.

Posted on June 6, 2005 12:17 PM | #

6. Richard Kendall said:

Contradicting my earlier post, I liked Republic. There were some damn good songs on it, ‘Regret’ is one of my all time favourites. There was a melanchollic sound behind the album, but it was more to do with Factory Records imminent demise than a Joy Division emotion. And what would we be listening to today if there had been no Joy Division? Not the majority of indie/guitar based bands currently sweeping the nation! Anyway, back to work…

Posted on June 7, 2005 02:23 AM | #

7. Kevin Klein said:

Keith - you perfectly described my own personal history with New Order as well. Outside of a couple tracks on the album after Brotherhood, and the first side of Brotherhood (I had it on LP and everything after the album that gave us the trite Bizarre Love Triangle was forgetful), New Order became embarrasing.

Maybe I’ll grab a couple singles from iTunes - any in particular I should pay attention to?

Posted on June 7, 2005 09:47 AM | #

8. KJC said:

Thanks for the info on the album! I was thinking about getting it, but your comment that it’s similar to “Get Ready” tells me to avoid it. I, too, loved the New Order of the 80s and even really liked a lot of their 90s stuff (I still think “Republic” is a great album), but I really thought “Get Ready” was a total disappointment.

Posted on June 8, 2005 06:15 AM | #

9. Kyle Peterson said:

I’ve never heard New Order but I’m intrigued after hearing this song. Also the fact that you say their earlier stuff is better has got my interest. I’ll have to keep up with your other “albums of the week” to see if there are any other groups of music I have yet to be introduced to yet.

Posted on June 8, 2005 05:00 PM | #