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Rating: THE REVIEW
1985. The dark-wave is now at its peak, and its prophets are hopelessly lost: some have crossed the last and ultimate door, others are raving mad, and many have changed their path. The New Order emerge into the world after a tragic experience, coherent survivors in another morning. There is little sense, therefore, in embarking on dramatically beaten paths: the dangerous shadows of the past are replaced by a schizophrenic hedonism, not without nihilism, no longer painfully repressed but liberating (as if to say "this world sucks and I want to dance over it!").
Low Life starts from uncertain territories between wave rhythms and pop sophistication, Love Vigilantes is catchy but not exactly reassuring. The Perfect Kiss accelerates by projecting romantic visions over a backdrop that starts combining pop-rock and electronic: the alienation hides in the crazy succession of landscapes now ambient, now blatantly danceable. This Time Of Night connects back to the dark past, disguising it according to synth canons and is brilliant in alternating desolation and lyricism. The nervous stride of Sunrise should be included among the splendors of England of the period, even (and especially) when it schizoidly spills into a rock-dance delirium.
Elegia is the obligatory, emotional, perfect tribute to the disappearance and figure of Ian Curtis: an essential and tenebrous Shine On Your Crazy Diamond for a new generation.
Sooner Than You Think is a little gem upon which many careers would have rested, while the two concluding tracks continue to explore possible and crazy hybrids between live music and the dance floor.
Low Life is an astonishing album: completely unruly (it was recorded in a single night, in the throes of the most disparate substances), at times brilliant, sometimes very sweet, other times cathartic, in some moments refined and in others delirious. Never predictable or banal.
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Summary by Bot
New Order's 1985 album Low Life is a standout blend of dark-wave, pop sophistication, and electronic dance elements. It captures a liberated, hedonistic spirit emerging from tragedy. Key tracks like The Perfect Kiss and Elegia show both emotional depth and dance-floor energy. The album is unpredictable, brilliant, and influential, with a perfect tribute to Ian Curtis. Recorded in a wild session, it marks a milestone in 80s UK music.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
New Order
New Order are an English band formed in Manchester in 1980 by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris after the end of Joy Division; Gillian Gilbert later joined. They became influential for merging post-punk with electronic and dance music, with classics such as “Blue Monday.”26 Reviews
Other reviews
By francis
Low Life, in my opinion the best New Order album and one of the most significant of the entire British music scene of the ’80s.
Sub-Culture [...] hides in its simplicity a terrible and disillusioned vision, yet not without a distant glimmer of hope, regarding the universal solitude of modern man.
By Ale87
Low Life is the album that best represents the soul of New Order, confused, disordered, without a guiding line.
This Time of Night is not only the best of the album but of their entire discography.
