New Order – Lost Sirens
Release Date: January 14, 2013
Label: Rhino
Website: newordernow.net
Review by: William Dashiell Hammett
New Order, for me, is one of the bands that I consider having induced my musical maturity. I first heard them back in 1985. There was just something about the opening bass beat of “Blue Monday” that I could feel inside myself and when the synth line fades in and evolves, I was grabbed. The teenage version of myself ascribed some deep meaning, a meaning that was most assuredly not Sumner and crew’s intent, to the almost nonsensical lyrics (but then how can a thirteen year old not do that). When Substance was released in 1987, I wore out four or five cassette copies in less than six months. And then one of the darkest moments of my musical loving life was when I heard the band had broken up in 2007. When the announcement that they had reformed, sans Hook on bass, I was torn between elation and concern. Would New Order be the same without Hook’s signature style supporting the rhythm section? Would his loss reduce the quality of song writing? Would Gillian Gilbert’s return as a full time member lead the group back to the more pre-Get Ready synth dominated sound? (more…)
The past year wasn’t particularly outstanding for me as far as music goes. Probably because I took a step back and didn’t pay as much attention as I had been. So I almost certainly missed a thing or two in addition to what normally goes beyond my ken. Generally, my year-end reviews, like all my reviews, are long winded and doubtless overflowing with needless extravagance of language. So this year, I’m going to keep sweet but I can’t say short as I’m sure there will still be a needless extravagance of language. 
Rammstein.
control.org, originally called eCo (short for electronic control organization amongst other more camel oriented things), is an electronic dance music outfit based in New Zealand. After a nearly six year hiatus as a group and nine since their last album, they have released their latest album degenerate. 
Individual Industry has started in the late 80s when Alex Twin began to work on his first demos. Over the next 25-plus years other partners came and went before Maurizio Bonito joined to stabilize the line-up for Dreams Never End, the bands first release in over fourteen years. Utilizing no less then nine guest vocalists from both Europe and their native Brazil, the musical style that has resulted is hard to define.
