July 2015, and their second single 'Plastic' was released on the 16th of September 2015. Their 10th studio album also includes guest vocals off; Elly Jackson (La Roux), Iggy Pop, and Brandon Flowers (The Killers).
The first track on the album was the first single of the album to be released, and it is called 'Restless'. Surprisingly, this song is quite slow; on the contrary it is extremely catchy. The song is introduced by Gilbert on the keyboard. This track is very baffling; however the message that I received from it, is that somebody is fighting for something that they want, but they keep failing. Resulting in them being so focused on one thing that they are completely oblivious as to what else is going on around them.
"I feel so restless and in this changing world, I am lost for words."
I think that the lyrics are perhaps aimed at the younger generation being caught up in popularity and getting 'the girl' or 'the boy' of their dreams. Instead of focusing on growing up and developing a career and a life for themselves as adults, and as a result of being scared of the future they are 'restless' due to being unprepared for adult life.
"I feel so restless ain't got no interest, I couldn't care less cant be a success."
Their second track 'Singularity' has a long one minute intro which is gradually accompanied by a concoction of a variety of instruments. All of New Orders songs are lyrical master pieces, but I particularly like this one.
"Winter came so soon, like summer never happened."
The opening line above, attracts your attention immediately. This track has more of a dynamic upbeat compared to the previous song, which makes it sound more electronic.
"I care so much for you, I crawled a thousand miles through deserts full of sand, my love in every land."
Their third track - 'Plastic' was the second song released, and it was released 9 days before the album. This is the second longest song on the album and it features Elly Jackson (La Roux). This track has a very eary electronic introduction which gradually builds up and the beat drops at one minute. The song is immediately intense due to the long 1 minute and 32 seconds intro. This song is blatantly about a man who fantasises over a girl who he can't have, and when he gives up on her - his perception changes of her and he sees that she isn't as perfect as she first seemed.
"Cause you're like plastic, you're artificial. You don't mean nothing baby, so superficial."
Their fourth track also features Elly Jackson (La Roux) and this song is called 'Tutti Frutti' - which stands for 'all fruits' in Italian. Like a lot of their songs, it has a very funky 80's inspired dance introduction; however the intro and outro are accompanied by Italian vocals. The intro translated from Italian (according to freetranslation.com) means;
"All the fruit my love, all fruits. No it's not yet time to enter, it's not yet..."
New orders fifth track; 'People On The High Line' is the last one to feature Elly Jackson (La Roux). This one includes the 80's dance vibe to it again, and sounds similar to the likes of Happy Mondays on some parts; for example...
"I'll keep trying, I can't get any higher. There's nothing I desire."
Their mid-album track features Iggy Pop, and it's called 'Stray Dog'. However I am not a big fan of this track as it's basically just Iggy Pop speaking over the dance background in two halves. However their next track called 'Academic' is brilliant! It's less electronic and more alternative rock, and it distinctively shows off Sumners vocal ability and the guitarists talents instead of the main focus being on the keyboards.
"Cause your heart is cold and your blood runs dry. You'll never see, or hear the crashing of the sea."
'Nothing but a Fool' is another alternative track like 'Academic'. Another catchy track is 'Unlearn this Hatred' which is their ninth track. This song starts off alternative rock; like the previous two songs, and after the opening line repeats itself twice, the typical dance beat begins to kick in.
"Two steps forward and one step back."
The second to last song on the album is called 'The Game' and it is a mixture of both alternative rock and the electronic dance genre that New Order are apart of. However the electro dance beat is not as intense as the first couple of tracks and is more similar to 'Unlearn this Hatred' and the alternative edge is similar to 'Academic' as it shows off Sumners vocal ability again. The last song to cease the album is called 'Superheated' and it features Brandon Flowers (The Killers). The intro is quite speedy, however as the song progresses the track gradually slows down to the melody of Flowers' voice.
In conclusion I would definitely recommend this album as all of the 11 tracks have been very cleverly put together and the lyrics are fantastic. I especially liked how the whole album wasn't the same genre and they mixed it up a bit. With their dynamic keyboards and mesmorizing poetic lyrics, New Order have won me with this incredible album. The only song that I wouldn't necessarily recommend is the track in which Iggy Pop features as 'Stray Dog' doesn't particularly do anything for me personally. I think that they should have just not used that track and stuck to 10 tracks for their tenth studio album. Other than that, I can't really complain. I am surprised to say the least.
9/10
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