Low-Life

 

You can see how quickly the years go by by looking at the release date of albums that you liked right from the start and still feel happy listening to many years later. 40 years ago today, New Order released their third album Low-Life. 

The album was released when the Iron Curtain was drawn across the continent. Even New Order had one installed at the time: instead of cities and countries, it separated their musical oeuvre from that of their predecessor band Joy Division. With their predecessor Power Corruption & Lies, the quartet broke new musical ground in 1983 and combined the old bastard indie rock with the new temptation in the form of the TB 303 bass synthesizer and the Emulator II sampler, which had to be fed with 3.5-inch floppy disks. 

Seemingly effortlessly, New Order succeeds in fusing effervescent indie rock and shimmering dance pop, which is nevertheless clearly located in the underground. Their optimism and joy of playing also characterizes Low-Life: the promise of a golden future is already evident in the opener Love Vigilantes, which begins completely unglamorously with four snare drum hits and then places a melodica at the melodic center. Sunrise begins with a shadowy, wafting synth sound à la Atmosphere, before Peter Hook unleashes one of his golden bass lines and provides the counterpart to the synth thunderstorm.

With Elegia, they shift down several gears and present an almost meditative excursion into dark worlds before redefining electronic music towards the end with Sub-Culture, featuring hammering sequencer beats and a grandiose bass line.

New Order - Love Vigilantes

New Order - Sunrise

New Order - Elegia

New Order - Sub-Culture