Here I will be playing a copy of the 2016 repressing which is visually unremarkable, but seems to win universal praise for how it sounds.
The opening track "Dreams Never End" is a relatively primitive band recording involving bass, acoustic drums and guitar. The vocals are provided by Peter Hook as the band hadn't decided who was to be the new singer when it was recorded. The song is relatively upbeat and has some nice melodic elements, but I can't say I enjoy the strange double tracked vocal.
"Truth" is a maudlin drawl that features some primitive synth sounds and a drum machine alongside the usual guitar and bass. There's a four on the floor kick drum to open "Senses" and a rumbling synth that suggests this is going to be something more lively. Stephen's trademark roto-toms come rattling through before we hear Hooky's distinctive high basslines. For me this is one of the first songs that points to the sound the band would later develop. "Chosen Time" is surprisingly rapid in tempo but somehow manages to sound brooding and sullen at the same time.
"ICB" and "The Him" are reflective pieces but the latter sounds naive in its realisation and I am growing very tired of Stephen's insistent toms by this point. Hooky returns on vocals for the disappointing "Doubts Even Here" and the slightly more upbeat "Denial" finishes things off. The trouble with this album is that it gives me the feeling of what it is like to be a goldfish: thirty seconds after a track has finished I can't remember anything about it. Everything sounds fairly similar with rattling toms, choppy guitars and largely indistinguishable vocals buried in the mix. The real New Order were yet to emerge from the shadows of Joy Division. 2/5
