New Order "Movement" 1981****

So you're a rock band at the musical vanguard. You've already blazed a trail from the underground to popular acceptance, worship even in some circles. And then, out of the blue, your young and charismatic frontman/singer/lyricist dies. What do you do? The Doors faced that question in 1971, Joy Division a decade later. Their answer was similar: you go on, and you make another album within a few months. The difference is that The Doors chose to keep the name, which didn't serve them well. It was an opportunistic move which may have helped the sales of the two albums they made without Morrison, but hurt their reputation in the long run. Otherwise, the two bands had a similar reaction on one crucial point: unable to find a satisfactory substitute for Jim Morrison or for Ian Curtis, they elevated one of the instrumentalists among them to the singer position. For The Doors that meant mostly Ray, sometimes Robbie. For Joy Division, it was guitarist Bernard Sumner. I can't imagine how nervous they must have been, being thrust into the spotlight like that. Sumner certainly sounds awkward on his singing debut here, but this doesn't stop Movement from being a remarkable record: in contrast to The Doors' directionless Other Voices, Movement has one foot in the past while displaying signs of moving towards a completely new direction. Opener "Dreams Never End" is exactly what you'd expect from a Joy Division single: it has an upbeat rhythm and bright guitar lines, while Peter Hook (who sings lead here) manages a rather uncertain Ian Curtis imitation. "Truth" is a morose tune with a ghostly vocal by Sumner and atmospheric synths by new member Gillian Gilbert. Drummer (and Gilberts' boyfriend) Stephen Morris dominates the next number "Senses" whose electronic funk sounds point to New Order's dancefloor-friendly future. "Chosen Time" is another dance number, while "ICB" brings back the darkness, albeit with the addition of weird electronic sounds. The vocals are once more timid and semi-buried in the mix. "The Him" is a slow song reprising the depressive Closer sound. "Doubts Even Here" (the second and last Hook-sung piece) is another track that strongly reminds us of Joy Division, not surprising when it features 3/4 of that band plus their permanent producer, Martin Hannett. Apparently though, the personal and professional relations between Hannett and the band went bad during the recording of this album, and their collaboration stopped soon after that. "Denial" closes the album with what I call the werewolf disco sound: dark and gothic, yet danceable. The minimalist cover is designed by Factory mainstay designer Peter Saville, based on a poster by Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero. Movement would remain an exception in their catalogue, as it sounds more like a Curtis-less Joy Division than like the New Order that produced the well-known hits in the 80's and 90's. Together with the 3 singles recorded with Martin Hannett around the same time ("Ceremony", "Procession" and "Everything's Gone Green") it presents a window to an alternate universe where New Order went on to be the biggest goth band of the 80's. What they gave us instead was pop hits and football hymns. Can't have it both ways...

***** for Dreams Never End

****for Truth, Senses, Doubts Even Here, Denial

*** for Chosen Time, ICB, The Him