rom JIP. Gwynn and crew are testing the
waters with a PledgeMusic campaign for
this record and a bonus 7-inch ("Our City
by the Lake"). We'd say it's a worthwhile
investment.
– Melanie Lewis
7
NEW ORDER
Music Complete
(Mute)
For the first time in exactly a decade,
New Order is dropping an album of
entirely original material, and while
Music Complete is long overdue, the reconfigured band used the intermediate years
to its advantage. After bitterly parting
ways with Peter Hook (the co-founder
responsible for countless iconic bass
lines), Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert
(making her first studio appearance since
2001’s Get Ready), Stephen Morris, Phil
Cunningham and Tom Chapman took to
the road to re-establish the band and formulate a chemistry that’s since been
cemented. And just as plausible by either
intention or coincidence, the group also
waited long enough that its electronicallycharged alternative pop is back in vogue,
as evidenced by the EDM explosion and
escalating appeal for all things '80s. With
that in mind, New Order takes a more
dance-floor directed approach on this
Waiting For The Sirens’ Call successor,
adding modern production elements into
a vintage formula that still sounds shiny
and sweet today. "Restless" ranks right up
there with any of the troupe’s club
bangers, "Singularity" shimmers with icy
synths and booming bass (even if the
more than capable Chapman isn’t a dead
ringer for Hook), while "Tutti Frutti" (no
relation to Little Richard) could easily
play second cousin to anything the Scissor
Sisters or La Roux released lately.
Speaking of the latter act, singer Elly
Jackson stars as one of the project’s many
guests alongside Iggy Pop, The Killers’
Brandon Flowers, plus a pair of productions from Chemical Brother Tom
Rowlands, who no doubt give these new
wave vets a boost, even though they
already had the comeback covered.
– Andy Argyrakis
8
TRIVIUM
Silence In The Snow
(Roadrunner)
Remember The Crusade? If it weren't
for the surprisingly classic Silence In The
Snow, one might have forgotten about the
time last decade when Trivium got clean.
"Hopefully it's a breath of fresh air fr