The new New Order album was recorded in several British studios throughout 2004 and features a ''dancier'' angle as opposed to the guitar-heavy Get Ready. This is New Order's first record made without founding keyboardist Gillian Gilbert. Gilbert left the band amidst the 2001-02 world tour for Get Ready to care for her ill daughter and has been permanently replaced by Phil Cunningham. London Recordings. 2005.
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The Killers. Interpol. Franz Ferdinand. Without New Order's influence they could have all ended up making albums of country & western ballads. Since the demise of Joy Division in 1980, the British synth-pop quartet has been diligently changing the course of popular music, lobbing unlikely but inventive hits like "Blue Monday" and "True Faith" into the charts. Twenty-five years on, New Order remains shockingly vital. Its eighth proper album overflows with shimmering melodies, anchored by Peter Hook's spine-tingling bass lines and Bernard Sumner's thin but emotive voice in thrilling new songs like "Krafty" and "Dracula's Castle." -- Aidin Vaziri
