New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)

Artist:  New Order
Title:  Power, Corruption & Lies
Release:  1983
Format:  LP
Label:  Factory Records
Catalog#  FACT 75

“Power, Corruption & Lies” is the second studio album by the English rock band New Order, released in May 1983 on Factory Records. The album features more electronic-based tracks than their previous album Movement, with heavier use of synthesizers.
A great leap forward from their funereal debut album, Power, Corruption & Lies cemented New Order's place as the most exciting dance-rock hybrid in music (and it didn't even include the massive "Blue Monday" single, released earlier that year). Confident and invigorating where Movement had sounded disconsolate and lost, the record simply pops with energy from the beginning "Age of Consent," an alternative pop song with only a smattering of synthesizers overlaying an assured Bernard Sumner, who took his best vocal turn yet. Unlike the hordes of synth pop acts then active, New Order experimented heavily with their synthesizers and sequencers. What's more, while most synth pop acts kept an eye on the charts when writing and recording, if New Order were looking anywhere (aside from within), it was the clubs "The Village" and "586" had most of the technological firepower of the mighty "Blue Monday." But whenever the electronics threatened to take over, Peter Hook's grubby basslines, Bernard Sumner's plaintive vocals, and Stephen Morris' point-perfect drum fills reintroduced the human element. Granted, they still had the will for moodiness; the second track was "We All Stand," over five minutes of dubbed-out melancholia. Aside from all the bright dance music and production on display, “Power, Corruption & Lies” also portrayed New Order's growing penchant for beauty: "Your Silent Face" is a sublime piece of electronic balladry.


Side one
1. Age of Consent  (5:16)
2. We All Stand  (5:14)
3. The Village  (4:37)
4. 586  (7:31)

Side two
1. Your Silent Face  (6:00)
2. Ultraviolence  (4:52)
3. Ecstasy  (4:25)
4. Leave Me Alone  (4:40)

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