Review Summary: Third time's a charm - literally.
The old saying goes that if you fall off the horse, you just have to get back on it again. It’s an admirable notion, but you’d easily forgive Bernard Sumner for taking his time. After all, the man has fallen off some pretty big horses in his time. Take, for instance, his first band, Joy Division – on the verge of their first hit single and international tour, vocalist Ian Curtis takes his own life in his home. Sumner subsequently returns, albeit a little worse for ware, with New Order. This particular horse rides strong for nigh-on twenty years, playing to thousands around the world and holding the record (geddit?) for the highest-selling twelve inch of all time with their seminal dance hit “Blue Monday”. It was in 2007, however, when founding member Peter Hook announced his departure, and New Order were put out to pasture.
What to do from here? You guessed exactly right. Dammit, Sumner has done it before and he’ll do it again. With his new outfit, Bad Lieutenant, we experience the sound of what New Order would sound like were they no longer caring if they sound like New Order.
Never Cry Another Tear paints a portrait of musicians that are revelling in the joy of their surrounds; expressing it by means of a dreamy, spacious pop record that completely revitalises their supposedly stagnant names.
The sound that the band is appearing to aim for revolves around a much more organic and subsequently authentic mix of guitar, drums, bass and a pinch of keyboards – interestingly enough, with barely a synth in sight. The acoustic/electric blend of guitar works particularly well on the ridiculously catchy lead single “Sink or Swim”, as well as the groovy twang of “This is Home”. The collaborations with Blur bassist Alex James, as well as former New Order drummer Stephen Morris, also add a nice touch to the record. The two integrate and engrave their personality and style on each track they are featured on. James’ slinking bassline on “Walk on Silver Water” is about seven shades of cool; while Morris adds a solid percussive rhythm to the U2-esque “Running Out of Luck”.
The omnipresent factor of each song has to be Sumner’s distinctive, understated vocals. While we’re on the topic of old sayings, let’s do the fine wine comparison – his vocals are the most comfortable and melodic that they’ve been in a decade, and the album’s plentiful hooks, both in and out of the choruses, drives this home emphatically. The rocking “Twist of Fate”, the “Won’t Get Fooled Again” homage “Dynamo” and the funky “Poisonous Intent’ are all sold examples of Bernard’s confident, crystal-clear range.
Perhaps
Never Cry’s biggest flaws lie in the significant lapse of quality as the record finishes. Over fourteen tracks, the album kicks straight into a pop-frenzy overdrive; only to have the rush die out and the remaining tracks, while still easily listenable, lack the spark of the album’s initial hits. The lyrics, no matter how nicely they are presented, still have a few significantly weak moments – “Poisionous Intent” boasts the pseudo-toughness of “Hey, bad man, what are you gonna do?”, and “”This is Home” squeezes out dud love-song imagery such as “I’m gonna take you higher than a bird can fly”. It’s all not helped by the fact several tracks revolve around the done-to-death “yeah yeah yeah” chants, either.
Fans of New Order will just be happy to hear Sumner’s voice again, but
Never Cry Another Tear has a lot more going for it than just the pedigree of its musicians. Its obvious potential shines through more than anything else. Bad Lieutenant are onto something here – and with a little bit more work, we could be hearing some of their best individual output yet. For now, however,
Never Cry Another Tear will have to do.
