By New Order, 2008

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1985 album from the Manchester quartet, one of the most successful and consistent bands of the '80s and beyond. After the suicide of vocalist, Ian Curtis, the three surviving members of Joy Division regrouped under the band name New Order, adding Gillian Gilbert on keyboards. The rest, as they say, is history.

Disc One in this package contains the original album in its digitally remastered glory. Disc Two is filled with eight non-album singles, B-sides and remixes. This is as great as it gets!Rhino UK.

2008.With the 1985 release of Low Life, New Order put forth their most commercially accessible effort to date. While some of the dark-wave drippings of their Joy Division roots are evident, high energy progressions, which would carry them for years to come, began to emerge here. Hits like "Perfect Kiss" and "Sub-Culture," with their synth hooks, club-stomping accents, and visceral lyrics, helped bridge the gap for growing synth-pop audiences who bolstered their success.

Other refined techniques on the album became standard New Order conventions: sweeping analogue rolls, live and sequenced drum percussion, tight bass melodies, and edgy guitar leads. Sustained by a peerless level of emotional involvement, the vocals and lyrics further entice the listener with the obliquely nuanced style of Bernard Sumner. Standing the test of time, this release is a must-have in order to understand the origins of introspective pop-wave culture.

--Lucas Hilbert

Similar to 0 things you like: