release date: Jan. 14, 2013
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,98]
producer: New Order and various
label: Rhino Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "I'll Stay With You" - 2. "Sugarcane" - 3. "Recoil" - 4. "Californian Grass (Doomy)"
9th studio album by New Order released close to 8 years since their most recent studio album, Waiting for the Sirens' Call (Mar. 2005). Like that it's produced by New Order and various others - Stephen Street, Stuart Price and Jim Spencer are back as producers on a few tracks and then Mac Quayle and Swedish producer Tore Johansson is credited on tracks #6 and #2 respectively. After several years with rumours of a new album under way this was finally released in 2013 after the band had unofficially split due to controversies between vocalist Bernard Sumner and bassist Peter Hook. And speaking of a completely new collection of songs to show us a new direction since their mediocre 2005 album this isn't exactly that. All tracks were recorded in 2003-04 and are "outtakes" from Waiting for the Sirens' Call. These songs were intended to follow the 2005 release within a two-year period but the split that ended with founding member Peter Hook leaving the band in 2007 ended up delaying the release. So, almost a decade after the recordings it finally had was released after New Order officially had disbanded, and it actually proves to be a much better album than the shallow 2005 album. I think, it basically show how some recording take bad turns based on wrong decisions about what works and what people (band members? / producers? / managers?) think is the right thing to do. Initially, they chose another musical direction but this show us that the very same people were still capable of making good music. Still, it's not one of their best, and I rate it just above mediocre.
Still in 2007, after Peter Hook left New Order, he formed the band Freebass with ex-The Smiths' bassist Andy Rourke, ex-The Stone Roses bassist Gary Mounfield and ex-Haven vocalist Gary Briggs. Bernard Sumner and Phil Cunningham formed the band Bad Lieutenant with vocalist Jake Evans, and Steve Morris featured as guest drummer. Tom Chapman, who would eventually substitute Peter Hook in the new formation of New Order also made guest appearances in this band.
In the fall of 2011 New Order reformed with a new line-up for a number of live performances, and in 2012 the Lost Sirens album was announced for an upcoming release, which led to new disputes with former bassist Peter Hook regarding copyrights, which further delayed the release another year.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]
