New Order: Substance | Music Review

MUSIC ALBUM REVIEW

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New Order
Substance
***

by Sal Cinquemani on November 2, 2002
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Born out of the post-punk ashes of Joy Division, the artfully titled New Order began their reign as one of New Wave's leading synth-poppers. In 1987, the group released Substance, a collection of their greatest singles reconfigured for the dancefloor with a second disc of rare b-sides and instrumental extended mixes. Though undeniably a product of its time, the album stands as proof positive of the band's influence on the then-burgeoning rave and house cultures. Kraftwerk-style synthesizers and Disco drum machines were married with singer Bernard Sumner's hesitant yet charming vocals, classic rock riffs and timeless pop melodies that helped bring '80s club subculture into the public's bedroom and car stereos (whether the public was aware of it at the time or not). While New Order's biggest hits are all here ("Bizarre Love Triangle" and "Blue Monday," which would be transformed into drastically different versions years later by Frente and Orgy, respectively), Substance also offered up two new tracks, the bustling hit "True Faith" and the introspective "1963."

Label: Warner Bros.
Release Date: 1987