New Order - Movement

This is New Order's debut in name only, with the ghost of Ian Curtis still hanging heavily over his grieving Joy Division bandmates. It would take them one more step, to the brilliant Power, Corruption and Lies, to really assert their own power. Movement, then, is the sound of guitarist Bernard Sumner, percussionist Stephen Morris, and innovative bassist Peter Hook building a bridge from JD's Sturm und Drang drone to New Order's considerably brighter dance pop. It's an interesting bridge to cross though, peppered with dark highlights like the almost poppy "Dreams Never End," the blip-blooping electro chaos of the Pere Ubu-influenced "ICB," and "The Him," with its rhythmic echoes of JD's "Atrocity Exhibition." --Michael Ruby