New Order - Movement (1981/2016) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

After the tragic suicide of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, the band restructured. Guitarist Bernard Sumner, whose gift for combining the melodic with the hypnotic had been the band's cornerstone, stepped up to the microphone. The resulting debut „Movement“ finds the group taking a brave step away from its unfortunate past. Preserved are Joy Division's dark edges Sumner's guitar attack swerves deftly between funereal repetition and noisy bursts, while bassist Peter Hook continues to explore his instrument's upper registers.

From the slow, deliberate build and melodic interplay of its opening moment, the mid-tempo "Dreams never End," „Movement“ boldly states the band's more experimental, slightly less emotionally turgid agenda. That Sumner is trapped under the influence of Curtis is undeniable–at times, the resemblance is alarming, but „Movement“ is the sound of Sumner finding his voice. The spacey synth-pop of "The Him" foreshadows the sound New Order was to slowly develop, as Sumner became more comfortable with the upper reaches of his vocal range. Dynamic play abounds–the existentialist drone of "Truth" gives way to a crushing, chaotic guitar wail, while the intense, revealingly named "Doubts Even Here" slowly erupts beneath a disturbing double-vocal, stressing the burgeoning diversity of this legendary band in the making.

This is New Order's debut in name only, with the ghost of Ian Curtis still hanging heavily over his grieving Joy Division bandmates. It would take them one more step, to the brilliant Power, Corruption and Lies, to really assert their own power. Movement, then, is the sound of guitarist Bernard Sumner, percussionist Stephen Morris, and innovative bassist Peter Hook building a bridge from JD's Sturm und Drang drone to New Order's considerably brighter dance pop. It's an interesting bridge to cross though, peppered with dark highlights like the almost poppy "Dreams Never End," the blip-blooping electro chaos of the Pere Ubu-influenced "ICB," and "The Him," with its rhythmic echoes of JD's "Atrocity Exhibition."

Tracklist:

01. Dreams Never End
02. Truth
03. Senses
04. Chosen Time
05. ICB
06. The Him
07. Doubts Even Here
08. Denial

Personnel:

Bernard Sumner - vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers, programming
Peter Hook - bass, vocals ("Dreams Never End", "Doubts Even Here")
Gillian Gilbert - synthesizers, programming, guitars
Stephen Morris - drums, synthesizers, programming



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