Having over-filled the song quota for their latest release, Manchester’s
masters of melancholy seem to have latched onto a new spark of creativity over
the 4 years since Get Ready (their last batch of new material), and a
particularly sad-yet-comforting feel to Waiting For The Sirens' Call,
taken from the album of the same name, serves up a cracking listen.
Slightly more guitar-driven than perhaps the days of Technique, not
that that is at all a bad thing, this simple and prominent chorus: "I don't know
where to turn when you're gone," gently lifted with ambient keyboard work, is
as memorable as any singalong released this year. Bernard Sumner's vocals are
as insightful and heartfelt as ever: "All the stars and all the worlds / Filling
up this universe / Could never be as close as us," and a gently picked acoustic
concludes the track majestically, albeit unexpectedly.
With a new Coldplay-esque songwriting quality coupled with clear evidence of
their links to The Smiths, it is not difficult to trace the explanation for New
Order's longevity. This will be one to show up the pretenders.