Cuttings

POSTER MODERNISM Renegade Art Terrorism or bumper tax loss, Barney Sumner or Benson Hedges, New Order or Soft Sell? Well, you‘re the customer! Wherever you live in these septic isles, there’s a good chance you‘ve had your recent bus journeys enlivened by the sight of a 20 foot-high Day-Glo Cupid by the roadside. Silk Cut go Lysergic? No, merely the latest in a series of post-modernist wheezes by those lovable situationists at Factory. Bearing only the legend ‘New Order, advertising Technique’, it is, in case you’re a bit slow, a reminder that the lads have a new record available. As Factory informed me: “As you’re aware NEW ORDER dislike the idea of advertising in the press, yet we still have an obvious duty to inform people that they have a new LP out. So originally we talked about flyposting but that, of course , is illegal. So we decided on the idea of billboards since it’s unusual and Peter Saville‘s sleeve makes for a really striking image and a rather neat pun (‘advertis...

NME - SURE BEACH WORKING NEW ORDER Technique (Factory LP/ Cassette/CD) WHAT HAVE New Order been doing since their last studio LP? The creative lull which, despite the odd single, has stretched for what seems like aeons has at last come to a close. We've been presented with 'Technique', certainly one of New Order‘s most consistent works to date, and one which avoids the usual flaws and imperfections they've borne like minor disabilities since their inception. It's an impressive polished edifice erected like a monument to a newly-discovered maturity and confidence, shining with the lightness of being. Almost optimistic, in fact. Gone are the doubts, half-guesses and hesitations which characterised their music for so long. A recurring sense of discovery permeates each song as the spectrum of human emotion is explored and investigated, be it loneliness, inarticulacy, joy or (most essentially) love. 'Technique' doesn't deny the darker experiences...