New Order Album: “Republic”

With 1989's TECHNIQUE, New Order had created their most commercially successful work yet, especially seeing as how most of their most famous songs from their previous albums were all big on the dance charts more than pop (it took until 1987's "True Faith" for New Order to crack the Hot 100). Songs like "Round & Round" & "Fine Time" proved New Order could easily create a hit single as well as a club anthem. Not to mention, the album was probably the band's best since 1983's POWER, CORRUPTION & LIES (home to New Order's signature song, "Blue Monday", which later hit the pop charts in a remixed version). Maybe success & the strain of it caused New Order to fragment slightly, for the recording of the follow-up to TECHNIQUE was said to be quite difficult, laying the foundation for the band's eventual 8-year hiatus. Indeed, 1993's REPUBLIC is a fine work, especially considering the signs of band turmoil are quite minimal.

If there was one good thing to come out of the tough sessions for REPUBLIC (which wound up being the highest charting album of their career), it was the song that would become New Order's second top 40 hit (after "True Faith"): "Regret". Of course, one could never fault the band for being original in their songwriting, but maybe that's because they're specializing in a genre that tends to downplay lyrical importance in favor of a good beat. However, with "Regret", New Order manages to create poetry out of simplicity, and while it is another entry in the "woe-is-me" category of music, Bernard Sumner just might be hinting at some sense of hope in his usual deadpan vocal delivery. The prominent use of electric guitar (not often appreciated in a genre like techno or dance) helps foreshadow the more full-blown use of it on 2001's GET READY.

Speaking of good beats, REPUBLIC certainly has its share of body-slamming rhythms that are placed smack dab in the middle of the song (maybe this was co-producer Stephen Hague's idea), often obscuring the words which sometimes manage to rise above New Order's typical underachiever approach to them. The hip-hop-influenced second single "World [The Price Of Love]", similarly-inspired fourth single "Spooky", "Everyone Everywhere", "Young Offender", "Liar" (can be considered just as much funk as dance), "Chemical" (particularly whiplash-inducing) & "Times Change" have dance floor written all over them & I'm sure all of these managed to get remixed in some form another to create even more energetic rhythms to dance the night away.

To match their sometimes-soul-searching lyrical ideas, New Order can also create much smoother songs with fewer beats per minute, yet still invite the occasional sway. The third single "Ruined In A Day", "Special" (the closest thing to an upbeat love song New Order has ever done) & the closing instrumental "Avalanche" have the band favoring a quieter approach that nearly borders on trip-hop, which was still a few years away from entering the mainstream. Sumner particularly shines on these slower numbers, making the sense of melancholy in his singing even more apparent.

Perhaps New Order would not consider REPUBLIC high up on their list of favorite albums because of the apparent infighting going on at the time of its recording. But to their credit, they managed to create music that belies any sort of trouble in the camp & can be enjoyed when forgetting about that fact. The only negative thing about it is that for the time New Order was gone, they never officially stated if they were on hiatus or disbanding, leaving their fans hanging for 8 long years. But the positive thing is that they left us with a good-enough album like REPUBLIC & would only go up a notch higher once they eventually came back.

I can tell what type of New Order fan you are by how you answer a single simple question: Do you think "Regret" is one of the band's finest songs? If not, you almost certainly like the band's 1980's albums better (probably much better) than three post-80's releases. As to the other type of fan, which definitely includes yours truly, "Regret" weighs in easily as one of New Order's best, and "Republic," "Get Ready," and "Waiting for the Sirens' Call," are their three best albums.

In my opinion, Bernard Sumner's voice matured after "Technique," as did the sound of the synthesizers, and the layered sounds, that the band often relies upon. "Republic" in particular has a number of terrific songs besides the wistful "Regret," which may be one of Sumner's best lyrical efforts. "Spooky" and "Young Offender," are almost as danceable and catchy as "Blue Monday," or any of their other earlier dance classics. But I strongly think there's something very special about the trilogy of songs "Chemical," "Times Change" and another of my very favorite New Order tracks, the meticulously crafted "Special." I really started to hear the layered complexity of this latter track when a friend of mine, who is a huge N.O. fan, told me this was probably her favorite N.O. song.

I just like "Republic" very much and, for me, it just misses a five star rating. Sometimes change is a good thing.

Gone are the days when New Order can put out an album riddled with songs like 'Your Silent Face', 'Face Up', 'Fine Time' and 'Every Little Counts'. The collapse of Factory Records seem to have brought a sense of solemnity and maturity not seen since the days of Joy Division. New Order seem to have absorbed the best bits of current and older dance-music styles (drum n' bass, techno, trip-hop, good old-fashioned acid house), and incorporated them into the essence of what they do best, synth-pop. There's a discernible austere, almost metallic sheen to 'Republic', a sure change from the dollops of fun on the previous 'Technique'. Many songs here allude to the folding of Factory, things like 'World', 'Liar' (a not-very-subtle dig at Tony Wilson?), the doomy 'Ruined in a Day' (easily one of their bleakest tracks) and 'Times Change'. But what makes it a key New Order album is the way the group have taken a moment to acknowledge the crap of the past couple of years and still have the courage to get together for possibly one last time to come up with a killer of an album. 'Regret' has got to be the best thing that they've done since 'The Perfect Kiss' and 'Bizarre Love Triangle'.

This is the sound that defines alternative techno. Why this album didn't make the pop scene, I don't know because every song is pure gold, so far as I'm concerned. It has catchy rhythms, interesting lyrics, and some of the best synth I've heard in a long time. The other thing I like about this album, unlike some techno albums, is that every song has a different sound. Synth music albums sometimes gets redundant, but each song has personality of its own. If this were a vynil record, I would have put scratches on it from playing it so much.

New Order's album have almost always been half dance/Half rock with lots of experimentation. New Order's 1993 release "Republic" find's the act almost completely abandoning their rock roots to explore the dance floor and in the process putting off their fans who like guitars with their music (2002's "get ready" will do the reverse- be mainly guitar and put off fans who like the dancier stuff) Produced by synth-pop wizard Stephen Hague, the 9 tracks on "Republic" feature club beats, rolling synths and Bernard's usual vocal stylings.

Personally I love "republic". Almost all the tracks are upbeat dance tracks paired with somewhat "down" lyrics. TRacks like "chemical" "spooky" and "Liar" are clubland rerday tracks. New Order are in typical mode on "regret" and "special". One of my favorite tracks on the album is "avalanche" with soft synths and Gillians sweet voice gently singing the word "faith" over soft, somber music.

A great album but fans of New Order's more guitar soudning work (Temptation, Ceremony) or Joy Division may need to sample first.

If you like synth-pop in the vein of Pet Shop Boys you may love it.