New Order
Get Ready

THE REVIEW

Who would have thought?
The seventh album after "Republic," which came out in 1993 and already felt like a reunion.

Usually, these things don't work, and they are only done for money. "Get Ready," however, is incredible.
"Crystal" showcases New Order at their best, with a guitar that seems to be played by Johnny Marr, Barney's partner in the side-project Electronic, but he's not here, and Peter Hook's bass, as always, plays three-note melodies on the high strings, followed by distorted guitars that counterpoint a piano "...keep it coming." The song stops and starts again with the wind in its face.

In "Turn my Way" Billy Corgan sings: "I drank in every bar in town/I filled my cup when I was down/I saw the things I wanted to see/Became the man I wanted to be/But then somehow I lost my way/I've got to get back there today" and again "I don't wanna be like other people are/Don't wanna own a key, don't wanna wash my car/Don't wanna have to work like other people do/I want it to be free, I want it to be true" (with echoes of Ian Curtis in the last words "I thought that I was right, I thought that I was right..."), this is the poetry of "New Order."

Their lyrics are worth at least as much as the music, often more than the music. They speak to you directly and never leave you, even after years.
"Primitive Notion" sounds like a Joy Division song or at least early New Order from "Movement."
"Vicious Streak" seems instead written for the Electronic.
In "Rock the Shack" Bobby Gillespie sings, returning the favor for Barney's participation in "XTRMNTR" by Primal Scream, where in "Shoot Speed Kill Light" Barney played a distorted guitar worthy of Steve Albini.
The album closes with "Run Wild," a slow ballad where the harmonica from "Your Silent Face" reappears: they quote themselves. The song appears musically light but has lyrics that come to find you in the deep of night, when you're alone, mixing depth and bitter irony, the trademark of New Order: "I'm not cruel/And you're not evil/And we're not like/All those stupid people/Who can't decide/Which book to read/Unless the paper/Shows deceit/You're the kind of person/That I've always wanted to be with/Well you're really cool/And you always say the right things to me/But now I'll tell you something/From my heart beats for you deep inside/But never be a burden/And my love for you will never die, never die, never die, never die, never die/But if Jesus comes to take your hand/I won't let go, I won't let go."

No one better than them can describe life. The simple things.