The Other Press

iNov. 10, 1986 Page 13.

 

NEW ORDER

_ “Brotherhood”

;
Being artists as well as
musicians (?), I suppose New

_ Order feels they can do what ever
they want and still label it as
art,as long as the package and
image that goes along with the
product is enough to convince
the buyer that. it is indeed art that
they are buying.

First lets take a look at the very

artsy, perfectly fashionable,
painted, abstract art record
cover. Nowhere is there the

mention of the band on the cover
& nowhere are the songs listed
on the sleeve. This is norm for
New Order, I grant that, but isn’t
the. entire idea of being totally
shabby and anonymous wearing
just a wee bit thin these days (ie.
witness Cocteau Twins/Mortal
Coil LP covers). The cover is well
painted, yes & New Order tosses
_ in a secret (?) message on the

LOVE AND ROCKETS
“Express”
(Beggar’s Banquet)

It’s been a while since the post-
; Bauhaus Love and_ Rockets

remade “Ball of Confusion” and
released their debut album, “The
' Seventh Dream of Teenage
Heaven”. Then, a few months
later, they released the single
“Kundalini —_ Express”, which
recieved wide airplay on_ the
alternative stations. Now _ they
' have’ brought’ the follow-up
- album, “Express”, to _ light.
“Express” takes “Kundalini Ex-
press” and incorperates it into
the whole of the album creating a
freeflowing unity that moves of
its own volition.

“Express”, perhaps in keeping
with guitarist David J’s__ phil-
osophy is a_ spiritual sounding
album, not gospel, just a overall
deep feeling. This is particularly
evident on the songs written by
or with David J (Kundalini Ex-
press and Ying and Yang_ the
Flower Pot Man in particular).

A-HA
“Scoundrel Days’

It has been nearly a year and a

 

 

half since A-Ha last recorded
new material, but they have now
released their new album,

“Scoundrel Days”. The album in
itself is stylishly done with en-
ough interesting melodies to
keep you interested. It is quite a
bit different from their debut
album, “Hunting High and
Low”. It lacks the catchy key-
boards of the first album, but
they make up for it with good
lyrics and expertise in handling
the music on this album.

The first track, “Cry Wolf’, is
quite an unusual song, it is a
good dance song, but I had dif-

 

 

 

 

cover to make us ponder for the
next few years it’s. meaning (if
any).

Open the sleeve & pull out the
record and you will find the
songs listed all in one paragraph
on the inner sleeve. The record

itself contains only the word
“BROTHERHOOD” in bold
print.

Then we get to the

 

I'll be the first to admit that I am
a synth freak, and that I rarely
listen to anything that doesn’t in-
clude a majority of keyboards,
but this album grabbed me and
pulled me in, now I can’t turn it
off (as anyone around the Other
Press office will readily attest).
“Express” has universal appeal,
it is good musically, it is also
artistic. The band experiments
with vocal harmony a lot, and no
experiment has ever been so

ficulty finding the meaning of the
song. The analogy of the wolf is
used in some way in giving a
message.

Track No. 2, called “Weight of
the Wind”, is a beautiful song,
questioning the love between
two people. The lyrics are very
emotional and meaningful. A-
Ha has used the analogy of the
weight of the wind to describe
the pressures of commitments of
love. Since the wind has no
weight, neither does love but
love still pressures you.

Then comes “The Soft Rains of
Dover’, another beautiful love
song. The tune itself has a. harsh
edge to it. The lyrics are excep-
tionally good, describing the life
of lonely people who think they

A Plethora of Records from The UK

songs...hum...what have we got
in reality? 9 songs, of which only
2 are really worthwhile. The
other 7 are terribly drawn-out.
Don’t get me wrong, they are still
well done.

Are New Order brilliant? Well,
yes they are, witness “State of the
Nation” and especially “Bizzare
Love Triangle”. At once their
skills shine. New Order realizes
that they are brilliant, and they
make no attempt to hide that
knowledge. They make 2 brilli-
antly structured dance songs that
will set the trend for dance songs
for the next year and very easily
ignore the rest - only doing what
they wish to do the only way they
know how...with absolute
artistic style. Pretentious? Yes,
but New Order have every rea-
son to be. Afterall, this is the
band with the one million sold
“Blue Monday” 12 inch single.
When you’re good, you’re good.

reviewed by richard

successful. The harmony
between man and instrument is
perfect as well. The music

doesn’t drown the vocals, nor the
reverse.

The biggest change in musical
style is the feeling of the album,
“Seventh Dream” was a depress-
ing album, filled with dirgeful
lyrics and melodies; “Express”,
while presenting a gloomy face
hints at better times ahead.

The listener (assuming you
buy the album) is also treated to a
lyrics sheet cum poster including
art from each of the musicians.
The price could not be better:
$7.99 at most record stores. (The
album states on the back, ‘This
LP for the price of a 12” single’.)

Look for “Yin and Yang the
Flower Pot Man” and “Kundalini
Express” on video shows, and
listen for them on_ the_ radio,
songs as incredible as this just
can’t get by the radio stations.

P.S. I am really glad that Kevin
Haskins, the drummer, has got a
better haircut.

By Jeff House

can find solace if they go back to
home and family.

The next track is “I’ve Been
Losing You”, quite good except
there is nothing new in the tune
and the lyrics seem to convey
‘broken romances’.

“Down in the City” is the next
track, a soft and mellow song,
with the lyrics giving visions of
walking through the streets of an
English town while depressed.
The song certainly portrays a sad
feeling.

After that comes “The Swing of
Things”, my favorite song on the
album. It is catchy melody-wise,
and the Iryics add to the half-
pessimistic, half-optimistic
mood of the song. The song con-
veys the feelings of an individual

“

 

 

 

BANANARAMA
“More Than Physical”
(London Records)

This sounds a lot like Dead or
Alive which isn’t all that hard to

imagine since they both now
have the- same producers and en-
gineers (Stockton/Aitken and
Waterman). The result is another
highly infectious dance single
much like their mega-hit
“Venus” from a_ while back.

Mindless but brilliant.
reviewed by richard

if

)
a ae -
DEAD OR ALIVE

“Brand New Lover’
(EPIC Records UK)

 

Pon Cara at

Another brilliant single from |
Pete Burns and company. This—
one is a ditty on being bored with
lovers. Actually this is very
good.:.plenty of action. Lots of
fun. The flip side is “In too Deep”
live, and that alone would justify
dishing $4.99 for the import
single. Well worth getting if you
are a Dead Or Alive fan.

 

recovering from the shock of a
broken romance.

The last track is “We’re looking
for the Whales”, -a rather corny
and boring track, not: good or bad
but merely mediocre.

Overall, the descriptive lyrics

in the songs works well. The
majority of the tracks are good,

with more nature-oriented
lyrics, such as rain, winds,
wolves and _ coldness, adding

nicely to the mood of the songs.
By Phinder |

 

LL