Speaking to this journalist six months ago, New Order’s estranged bass player Peter Hook complained that the group’s last LP, 2006’s Waiting For the Siren’s Call, was, in all but name, a solo record by frontman Bernard Sumner. “It was like an Electronic album,” he said referring to Sumner’s early ‘90s dance-pop project. He had a point: there is some wonderful stuff on Waiting but the sharp edges have all been removed – there is little of the raw – dare one say ramshackle – energy that illuminated New Order’s finest songs.
Seven years and one very bitter falling-out later, New Order have reformed as a live entity (sans Hooky) and here comes their first ‘new’ product, a batch of outtakes from the Siren sessions. The suspicion, naturally, is that this is a desperate exercise in barrel-scraping by an outfit bound for the nostalgia circuit. However, your misgivings evaporate the instant you slap on opener ‘I’ll Stay With You’. A cousin once removed of classic NO single ‘Regret’, it strikes a balance between the bittersweet and the exuberant. Fair enough, Peter Hook’s trademark bass gets short shrift but, Electronica soundalike or not, it’s a lovely, lovely document of musicians finding their way back to their best. There are more rocking moments also: ‘Recoil’ features (yesss! ) a proper Hooky solo,’ I Told You So’ is a heavyweight indie chugger reminiscent of New Order’s late ‘80s Technique period. Judging by recent interviews, a New Order reconciliation seemed unlikely. As sign-offs go, Lost Sirens is no Abbey Road. But it is far more than the odds and sods cash-in you might have assumed.